Star Wars: The Arden Lyn Chronicles: Into The Void
by Tenkai Nankobo 101
Summary: From the team that brought you the "Vengeance From The Unknown" Duology comes the series that continues what they began. Journey with Arden Lyn, her apprentice Depa, and the members of their new cult as they prepare to help Admiral Thrawn face the Yuuzhan Vong. What lies in wait in the Void for them? What are these people that seem so mystifying to them? Find out here and now!
1. Prologue & First Chapter

Star Wars

The Arden Lyn Chronicles

Into the Void

By

Christopher Cleveland & Diego Feliu

**Prologue**

Even though Arden Lyn had had more than enough time to get accustomed to lightspeed travel, having it done it several times since her revival on Irkalla, it still bedazzled her every time. Something about it awoke a kind of wonder that reminded her of her childhood, a speck long forgotten to others. For Arden Lyn had been born twenty-five thousand years before the present Clone Wars and was imprisoned in a state between life and death for her insubordination to the Jedi Order of those old days. Now, with her new apprentice Depa Billaba, the Ember of Vahla, and the Sorcerers of Tund, she set out to forge a new life and a new destiny to call her own.

As far as she was concerned, at least part of that destiny intelled journeying to the Great Void in the Universe where an enemy unlike any other awaited her. This enemy was the Yuuzhan Vong and Arden knew that what she had seen of them before was only a sample of what lied ahead for them. "Milady, we're getting very close to the end of the path taken by the fleet we destroyed in Malastare," one of the Sorcerers stated. "Good, have all forward and flanking cannons ready to fire at Yuuzhan Vong ships upon arrival," she replied.

Bowing, he left her alone except for her apprentice, who had joined her to enjoy the view of the current of starfire all around them. "It's beautiful when it's new to you, isn't it?" she asked her mistress. Arden nodded and added that it still never ceased to take her breath away as to how beautiful it was to her. "I've been around it long enough to take it for granted but I forget that you were in hibernation for twenty-five millennia and as such, don't have my luxury," Depa added.

"You say that like luxury is a curse to you," Arden said. "It's a double-edged sword, as you know, that has both its benefits and its disadvantages. Sadly, the disadvantages outnumber the benefits for the most part though there are exceptions," Depa admitted. "Like what, for instance?" Arden asked her apprentice.

She was testing to see if Depa had learned anything useful from Arden's training though her own personal wisdom never ceased to humble Arden when it came up. "The spoils of war mistress, sometimes they can be far more beneficial than detrimental to the progress of our fight," Depa said. Smiling, she was content with that answer and knew that Arden would not object to it though there might be slight disagreement within her.

_She learns more by the hour than I can teach her in a day, I wonder what dangers lie ahead for that sort of progress. The best student is one who does not greedily consume what the Master has to teach though they refine what they have been taught_ Arden thought rather silently. "Even the spoils of war are sometimes deadly to the victors but in the end, there is no true victor in any fight. War eats and eats and eats until all that remains are those who have destroyed all their enemies; even then, war does not stop eating and eventually consumes its original supplier," she said aloud.

"But if the supplier is something like the Jedi, war always has a guaranteed supply of food," Depa stated. "That's probably the reason they've survived: war eats the best of them and the rest are left to spoil in the heat of the rotting dead," Arden agreed. Before anymore could be said, they arrived.

**Chapter One**

Thrawn was baffled at how his Yuuzhan Vong enemies could be so patient, perhaps they were waiting for his allies to arrive. If that was the case, he would need to act quickly once they did arrive in order to get them our alive. _Whoever's leading these fleets has learned from their previous mistakes, can't say I'm not surprised considering how long I've been fighting them_ he thought. "Sir, Arden Lyn and her allies will be in position to face the Yuuzhan Vong Main Fleet shortly; all our own forces are ready just like you ordered," one of his captains told him.

"Good, tell them that they may begin their attack when the Yuuzhan Vong have begun their own attack on Arden," Thrawn replied. The captain bowed and went to relay his orders to the Chiss Ascendancy's mightiest fleets. "Oh and Captain, before you go, the Killiks are still in position to be used as our shield against the Yuuzhan Vong, correct?" Thrawn asked, catching the man before he left. "Yes sir, they'll be the first ones to fight them at your command just like you asked," the officer answered.

"Good, tell them the signal for their attack against the Yuuzhan Vong shall be given soon. And tell them to wait until the hear the words 'Sword of Morpheus' on the open frequency. That will be their signal to attack the Yuuzhan Vong when I'm ready for them to do so. But first, Arden will contact me upon her arrival if she does not come under bombardment immediately," Thrawn stated.

"Yes sir, I shall await further orders in the meantime and obey the ones already given," the Captain said, bowing before he left. _Such formality, I'm_ _beginning_ _to wonder if I should ban it considering how it delays sending the point I need send to the Yuuzhan Vong_ Thrawn thought. However, he concluded that it ultimately matter because if done right, this would mean his victory against the Yuuzhan Vong forevermore and a commendation like no other from his people. Granted, he had no use for the fame and fortune of his people's formality in the long run but it would be good for revenge.

After all, his peers had dictated that he was to be exiled because of "treasonous action" against the Ascendancy. In all actuality, Thrawn would have proven that he was far more loyal to the cause of wiping out the Killiks and destroying the Yuuzhan Vong than did the Council that had banished him. Smiling, he was smug in his ultimate victory, knowing that there was almost no reason that it would go wrong for him. The only thing that could go wrong was all that concerned Arden Lyn, from losing her life in the battle to having to abandon her and leave her to a worse fate than even he could imagine.

Undoubtedly, the latter would have her thinking that he had betrayed her and her new cult, making her vow to come for him and kill him when she caught up to him. It wouldn't matter if it took her thirty years to come back from the Void or just thirty days, she would find him and make him pay. _Whatever it takes, I must not let this woman fall into their hands or into a place where I cannot rescue her from their savage attempts at destruction. She is far too temperamental for me to allow that to happen her and she has dealt with enough betrayal as it is_ he told himself silently.

And as if the thought was heard across the stars, Arden called in to signal that she had arrived alas to the edge of the Void. "I will be engaging the Yuuzhan Vong shortly, I will be taking on the Main Fleet but I cannot cover any that come behind us," she said. "We will take care of the blind spot for you, just worry about destroying the Main Fleet and forcing the enemy on the run," he replied. "Very well, I look forward to the celebrations for our victory against the Yuuzhan Vong," she stated calmly.

"As do I, milady, as do I," Thrawn said. Bowing, she cut transmission and he knew she probably did so just in time to see the beginnings of the attack. He wondered if there would be anything _to_ celebrate at the end of this conflict or if there would only be sorrow. For with war, there was always a balance between the festivities of the victors and the grief they feel within for those who perished.

**Czulkang Lah, Warmaster of** the Yuuzhan Vong Fleet, had decided to bring his son Tsavong along so that the boy could witness the grand finale of the war. If their people won, they would be able to move into the divided galaxy and take it for themselves like all the rest before it. "This enemy has given us a good run for our riches even if in the end, they must fall," Tsavong stated in his observation. "Careful what you say son, the battle has not yet even begun and victory can very quickly turn to defeat before you are no longer helpless to do anything about it," Czulkang replied.

"Look over there sir, it looks like they've sent their first force to try and take on the Main Fleet," an officer interjected bluntly._ Interrupt my son's learning like that again and I will surely kill you when we're through unless there's a damned good reason for it_ Czulkang thought angrily. Tsavong, however, continued to observe the space around them as it immediately began to fill with ships that were both friendly and hostile to his father's armies. "Good, hold position and let them begin their attack, I will have the fleet to the southwest come and strike them from behind," Czulkang ordered.

"But sir, with due respect, that is very risky: their resources could surely wipe out up to half of our Main Fleet by the time that other group arrives," the officer stated. "That's the risk we'll have to take in order to wipe out this enemy and besides, we have no other choice. We need everyone to even stand a chance of fighting against this enemy we face, let alone win this war forever," Czulkang said. "Very well milord, we shall order them to begin making their way and to bombard the enemy as soon as they arrive," the officer stated before beginning the preparations he mentioned.

"He looks to be afraid for his life, father," Tsavong whispered to his father. "What makes you say that, my dear boy?" Czulkang asked, whispering in return. "Notice that his forehead glistens with his sweat like a coward's head does when he fears death," Tsavong answered. "Hmm, that is a good observation: perhaps I shall bring it up to his attention after we have completed our task here," Czulkang said.

Smiling, he let his son continue to watch as the attack began, the enemy's starfighters taking off from the main hangar of their cruiser to intercept the Yuuzhan Vong equivalents. "Have our fighters stall the enemy as long as they can while our main cruisers warm up their batteries for firing," he ordered. "Batteries, milord?" another officer asked. "Their weapons, have all cannons ready, you know exactly what I mean when I say batteries!" Czulkang hissed.

At his nod, Czulkang watched as his son used his whip to move some people along and had to admit that the boy made him prouder and prouder by the day. _Soon, you will be ready for the title of Warmaster and your place as my equal, very soon. But the time has still not come though I am faithful that it won't be much longer before it does_ he thought but didn't say. Then he turned back to watch the battle slowly take shape and substance before him, a strategic puzzle ready for solving.

**Onimi and Shimrra observed** through a video recorder that Czulkang had engaged the Chiss and Killik union for what would be the final battle between them. The stakes were simple: defeat meant being lucky to have mere scraps of their military out of it, nevermind their livelihood. Victory meant that they would have one more galaxy to add to the collection of galaxies that fell to their conquest. If successful, they would be able to move on to other galaxies that probably could be more powerful.

_No matter what happens, I will still have Shimrra under my belt until I'm ready to dispose of him_ Onimi thought to himself. He liked being this close to the Supreme Overlord and being indirectly able to control his people for the first time in his life. After all, it had been not long ago that everyone had persecuted and cursed him for his more frail body as well as his other shortcomings including his power. But this power was put to good use and many of his former persecutors had now turned their faces the other way to find new scapegoats rather than harass him a while longer.

Now, he could command their executions in revenge if he wanted but he wouldn't, not yet anyway. He would wait until either victory and defeat was assured for Czulkang's forces and then he would determine whether or not it would be a good time to do it. After all, a defeat would mean having to ensure that every powerful officer alive in order to keep the people unified in crisis. But victory would mean that Shimrra and Czulkang could both gloat in any manner they desired, especially with murdering.

Yes, the Court Jester would have to continue his duties and kiss ass for many of these nobles either way. However, the victory would mean that he could persuade Shimrra to do away with these old enemies if he wished. _Perhaps, I can even bring up Czulkang's past actions that are more treasonous in nature and have his heroism automatically discredited. That would be so dishonorable to him that he would have to kill himself and his family_ Onimi observed silently.

Something like that was useful to his advantage especially since it was uniquely a Warmaster means of restoring honor. The only downside was that the dead had no value for honor and the living stripped themselves of any chance of enjoying it if they did that. Czulkang and Tsavong, his son, would not realize that until they were already almost dead and that was what Onimi wanted. "Tell me friend, what do you foresee being the outcome of this battle?" Shimrra asked.

Onimi observed the setup of both formations and had to admit that he could already notice several mistakes that Czulkang had made. Instead of pointing them out to Shimrra immediately, he decided just to answer the question first and then use them as his reasoning if need be. "I foresee Czulkang failing and coming back here with very little if any of our mighty fleet," he answered. "And why is that?" Shimrra inquired, prompting Onimi to state his observations.

"Czulkang intends to use the Main Fleet as a shield to our floating cities whilst stalling our enemy until the southwestern fleet arrives and surrounds them. Good setup but the man we fight is Admiral Thrawn: he will probably have anticipated this and will act accordingly. This simply means that he probably has the Killik forces set aside just waiting for their chance and he will send them to attack. Warmaster Lah will be lucky if he manages to save anything of the Main Fleet and saving the southwesterners would be impossible," Onimi explained.

"Would we still have enough to defend ourselves from invaders if need be?" Shimrra asked. "Not against our enemy no but against other intergalactic species, quite possibly yes," Onimi answered. "Good, we can punish Czulkang for his incompetence, stating that it has dishonored our people and may need to kill himself to restore his family honor," Shimrra said. "Let us not do that: Czulkang has been one of the finest officers we've employed against Thrawn and doesn't deserve ingratitude," Onimi said.

_He'll die anyway but that way would be much too direct and nearly shameless though also entirely pointless_ Onimi added to himself. "As you wish, my friend. For now, let us enjoy the final battle of this war that we have been waging against the Chiss and the Killiks for years, shall we?" Shimrra requested. Onimi nodded and took a seat beside his Overlord before continuing to watch the battle unfold in its entirety.

**Depa Billaba, apprentice of** Arden Lyn, attempted to connect her mind to her Mistress's in order to conduct Battle Meld and enhance their troops' motivation. But she immediately noticed a problem: none of her telepathic powers worked here nor did any telekinesis. She could still use Pyrokinesis, Force Crush, and several other powers she had but those were mostly energy-based. Then it occurred to her that her Mistress had mentioned Yuuzhan Vong resistance telepathy and telekinesis.

Unfortunately, this included all related powers such as Battle Meld and perhaps Force Crush. Since the fires of pyrokinesis came as an energy, she could use that but it was far more limiting than not. Force Lightning was much better power to extensively use and she would do such a thing if her lightsaber and other manual means failed. However, instead of worrying about that entirely, Depa went to obey Arden's orders and join the Ember of Vahla as they faced down the enemy Yuuzhan Vong.

Not since fighting with Mace Windu had she been on a starfighter and her rustiness showed somewhat though not very much. _Good thing these warriors have not yet noticed that I am rusted in piloting a starfighter, otherwise they might have thought me a rookie_ she said to herself. But overcoming her rustiness, Depa was quick to begin leading the Ember of Vahla into battle. It felt good to be leading an army again even if her new Mistress wasn't here to enjoy the thrills with her.

Understandably, Arden still had much to learn and that included piloting a ship capable of hyperspace flight. But that did not mean she wasn't participating in the battle: Arden was using the power of her Talisman to help the Sorcerers of Tund fight from in the ship. Its power meant that they would be able to send energy-based attacks at their enemy whilst having a shield to protect them. But Depa began to wonder if even its power would be enough to sustain them against this new enemy.

After all, they could resist telepathic-based and telekinetic-based attacks as it was. Unless the Talisman undid this resistance, which she doubted, there wasn't much it could do to stem the tide. Whatever Thrawn was up to, he would need to do it soon if there was to be any chance of them all surviving this battle and returning for festivities. Unless he planned to sacrifice Arden, Depa, and their forces in exchange for complete and total victory over this extragalactic species that had plagued him.

**Thrawn saw the formation** that Arden and Depa had taken and had to admit that he was impressed despite the overall shoddiness of it. After all, the women had set themselves up perfectly for the completion of his plan and when he saw the southwestern fleet arrive, he knew what to do. "Captain Lethe, you may send the signal to the Killiks to engage the southwestern fleet ," he said at last. "Yes sir, I shall do that immediately: the insectoids already know what the signal is and will act on it," Lethe said.

"Copy that," Thrawn replied. And when he saw the results, he was immediately dazzled by what it turned out to be. When the Killiks were given the signal, they crossed the border of the Unknown Regions and hit the southwesterners so quickly that they couldn't hit back for many minutes. Such was the efficiency and speed of their takeoff that Thrawn even wondered if he shouldn't kill them but spare them when he had to dethrone the more treasonous officers of the Chiss Ascendancy.

Holding his glass of wine, Thrawn decided to take a stroll across his facility though he let the officers surrounding him know where he was going beforehand. Slowly walking along the snaking passages and hallways, Thrawn enjoyed the cold scent of Irkalla's clean air entering his lungs. This planet couldn't support much without help from importers but it was a good place for a military base. Isolation, desolate weather, and uncharted dangers did all sorts of things to help the training of future soldiers of the Chiss Ascendancy such as those who joined Thrawn.

Arriving at his destination, he examined the painting that Arden Lyn often visited which remained on the wall even now that the Chiss had made this fortress their base. He never really noticed the details before though he knew it well enough from several glances and some moments of looking at it. But he never truly examined the texture and the dimension in the portrait painted of Arden's mighty husband. Xendor held a massive red cloth tied to a flagpole in his left hand and in his right, he held his unsheathed sword whilst standing amidst a massive pile of dead Jedi bodies with the sky burning behind him.

As Thrawn examined the perfect portrait as well as the damage on the wall surrounding it from when Arden had punched it in anger, he came to realize something. The way Arden had touched it had not been only in memory of Xendor but also in memory of how she had originally painted it. _Arden Lyn, mighty woman warrior and survivor of the First Schism, was a painter too_ he thought, smiling. Luckily, his gloves were on and he had done no damage to the portrait itself but he could see nothing from when Arden had touched it with her bare hands.

Perhaps she used some trick with the Force in knowledge of the damage human hands could do to such fine art but then, perhaps not. Finally, the Admiral supposed that it couldn't harm since she was the first to have touched the portrait of her husband in twenty-five thousand years. _The composer lives to see the rather minimal damage that time has taken on her creation. No wonder why she liked coming here after all_ Thrawn said, chuckling to himself in respect of the woman he had befriended.

He also came to another realization: that the portrait was not a depiction of Xendor as the glorious hero Arden remembered but rather what he had become before his death. She had painted the possession of the Talisman as it took its toll on him both mentally and physically. In this one painting, she had beautifully depicted the inner demise of a hero before his outer shell was destroyed by the Jedi. Because of that, Thrawn had to admit that he truly didn't know Arden half as well as he thought he did for she had displayed talent in an area where he had least expected it: artistry at its most beautiful.

He heard steps just as he came to this realization and the pace indicated that this was something that immediately demanded his attention. "Admiral Thrawn!" Captain Lethe exclaimed, panting violently due to running to his Master. "What is it, Lethe?" Thrawn asked. "The Ascendancy Council has just withdrawn their support from the fight and have taken half our men with them!" Lethe answered.

"They did what? The war isn't even over yet for goodness sake!" Thrawn demanded, marching back to the communications center with Lethe. "I know it sounds ridiculous (I couldn't even believe it myself right as they told me) and I even told them that it was a bad idea but they wouldn't listen to me. In fact, they told me to tell you that as soon as the Killiks and Arden Lyn are through with the Yuuzhan Vong, you are to make a truce with their Supreme Overlord!" Lethe replied.

"Are they still on the channel?" Thrawn inquired. "I was able to get them to stay on condition that they speak with you to make sure you approved of this. They say it's the only way you'll regain the lost half of your resources if you want them back badly enough," Lethe explained. _By the time I manage that, it could all be over for Arden and the crew with her_ Thrawn thought angrily.

He couldn't believe the incompetence of the Council nor could he believe that he was actually having to betray Arden in order to avoid defeat. After all his inner talk and his vow not to betray the poor girl, it had been for nothing now that the Council had done this insult to his honor. "What is the meaning of this?" Thrawn demanded as soon as he could see the Council's faces.

"For thirty years, we have been fighting with the Yuuzhan Vong and have been in the Killik alliance for ten. Soon, the Killik warriors will be annihilated and we will have the Yuuzhan Vong at a point where they cannot fight back at us if we hit them with our full might," the leader, Moses, said. "The Killiks are not our only allies out there in those stars, you pitiful, incompetent fools!" Thrawn hissed. "Are you referring to those female Humans with the Sorcerers of Tund, the Ember of Vahla, and four dozen of your hand picked staff on board their cruiser?" Moses asked.

"Of course, I'm referring to them you moron! I promised them that I would see to it that they safely returned and I am not about to betray them," Thrawn answered. "In war, great sacrifices such as this are always necessary; I can't imagine them lasting very long without Killik aid," Moses said. Thrawn turned his screens to see that Moses was surprisingly close to the truth on his suspicion that Arden wouldn't last much longer.

"Which do you choose Thrawn? The women and their witchcraft or your life and your future?" Moses asked, warning Thrawn. After a long moment of thought, Thrawn vowed he would pay for this.


	2. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

"Lady Billaba, our men and women are being swatted out like flies! It's not going to be much longer before we'll have to retreat to the cruiser," exclaimed the leader of the Ember of Vahla._ Damn, have the Yuuzhan Vong already grazed through so many of our soldiers like nothing?_ she thought. "Very well, pull everyone out and back to the cruisers: I'll have my Mistress cover our escape with the Sorcerers of Tund," she replied aloud.

Piloting was not her specialty and she realized that apparently, it wasn't the specialty of the Vahla either. However, they had given the Yuuzhan Vong a hell of a fight in the starfighters and now that the Killiks were here, they didn't have to worry about the more massive cruisers from the Main Fleet. The southwestern fleet that had caught them off guard earlier had been wiped out as a result though some of the Vahla fighters were caught in the crossfire due to poor strategic positioning earlier. "Attention all starfighters still flying, this is Arden Lyn contacting you to order you to return to the ship if you aren't already doing so," said her Mistress' voice on the comm channel.

"Mistress, this is Depa, I presume you have a plan for confronting the Yuuzhan Vong forces?" Depa asked immediately. "Affirmative and the Sorcerers are going to play a big part in the fruition of these plans. Speak no more until you're in the safety of the ship and move it: I hate delays," Arden said. "Copy that Mistress, all Vahla fighters, report back to the cruiser immediately and make sure not to get shot down while you do it!" Depa said into the comm channel.

It took at least an hour for all of the ships that survived the collision with the Yuuzhan Vong to arrive but when they did, Arden was to the point on their briefing. "Each transport will require twenty-four starfighters as escort and contains two-hundred of the Sorcerers. You will be escorting three such transports to each of these highlighted Yuuzhan Vong ships with the intent to destroy them. After that, if you survive, return here for the next escort duty but remember that it will likely be a one-way trip for all the transports you escort," she explained.

_She intends to sacrifice the power of the Sorcerers to destroy the Main Fleet and has calculated how many would be needed for each. I didn't anticipate such cunning on my Mistress' part but then, I never really have managed to anticipate much from her_ Depa thought silently. "Apprentice, I will need you here in case the Yuuzhan Vong manage to breach the cruiser and pursue its destruction. Your powers will be better used in combination to mine for the defense of this place," Arden said.

Depa didn't want to argue about that nor did she think that it was even worth arguing considering the relief she felt at not having to fly again. However, she sensed something wrong and had the feeling that she would probably see almost none of these people again. Not that she cared for them much but she did have to wonder if it was really necessary for them to have stumbled into this deathtrap. Would they get out alive and if so, would they be rescued by Thrawn and his soldiers or would they be betrayed and left to die by him?

Unfortunately, the thought apparently prompted Thrawn's hologram to appear in their communications array and deliver news from his front. "The Chiss Ascendancy has robbed me of half my resources and has ordered me to deliver terms of a truce with the Yuuzhan Vong. This wouldn't be so bad if it weren't the half that was quintessential to defeating them and rescuing you two if need be," the Chiss Officer immediately said. "So you are going to just simply leave us to die!?" Depa exclaimed.

"I have no choice, I tried to persuade them to give me the resources back so that I could rescue you two and give you a proper start to the rescue of Vergere. However, they were stubborn and demanded that I fulfill their terms before I can get them back and by then, it'd be too late," he admitted. "You betrayer and break of promises!" Depa shouted, grabbing him in a Force Choke in anger. "There was nothing I could do, I had no choice but I will avenge you, I assure you," Thrawn replied in gasps.

"Let him go apprentice, there is nothing more that can be done and killing him won't make a difference. Not now, anyways," Arden ordered. She wanted to get back at him for this as well but she knew better than to do it when she was under attack from another enemy. "Defend the ship at all costs and if necessary, we'll make an escape that we can use to attempt returning to Thrawn," she added.

"You're on your own as far as an escape goes anyway. I can't even help you escape with what I have but I can warn you both now of impending danger: the Ascendancy will be coming in my place. They'll annihilate everything that stands on the firing end of their cannons whether it's you or the Yuuzhan Vong. I suggest that you escape as soon as you can but stall the Yuuzhan Vong at least until they're close," Thrawn said.

_This Ascendancy that he answers to intends to wipe out everything here in the fringes of the Void for victory over the Yuuzhan Vong. Typical strategy that General Grievous used when he was faced with defeat on a front he couldn't afford to lose_ Depa thought. She began to regret having Force-Choked the Admiral but she couldn't help but snap in the face of his helplessness. "We'll do what we can and we may yet still see about bringing back your Jedi Vergere when we've escaped," Depa heard her Mistress say to Thrawn.

"I don't see how you could manage a rescue after barely escaping with your own lives but if that is your wish, I will not stop you. However, I suggest that you move quickly about it: the more time you waste, the more the Ascendancy has to arrive and blast you to hell," Thrawn warned them. Arden nodded and said that she and her apprentice would do just that before cutting transmission with him. Depa decided it was best not to ask her Mistress how she intended to rescue the lost Jedi Vergere when they could barely rescue themselves from this mess.

But once again, she reminded herself not to question Arden's abilities as a leader for she saw ahead and kept calm whenever Depa couldn't do either. "Livy, have the Ember of Vahla that remain done as I instructed them to do?" Arden asked. "Yes ma'am, they flew off with the transports without you even waiting to give them a signal," the leader of the Vahla answered. "Good, they wasted no time waiting on me like I feared they would; now we just wait for any remaining Yuuzhan Vong to come," she said.

**As soon as Czulkang** saw the beginnings of the resurgence in the near-defeated starfighters and the transports they accompanied, his first thoughts weren't on destroying them. Rather, his first thoughts were actually on getting his son to safety since the Main Fleet would like be destroyed at this point. "Captain, arrange for a transport to go back to the City and make sure that the pilot understands that he is not to return until at least this has ended! Tsavong, get your ass to that transport and stay put in the city until I order otherwise for you," he said aloud, bursting the orders almost non-intelligibly.

Luckily for Czulkang, Tsavong knew better than to waste a single moment in questioning his father's orders and a pilot was quickly arranged. "Ready all cannons and torpedoes, I want those transports and those starfighters gunned down the moment you can get a good shot," he added. The men aboard his ship were also quick to obey that order and relay it to others without questioning him. _What are the allies of the Chiss Ascendancy up to and why have they forced this sudden fear upon my mind?_ Czulkang asked himself.

Was this their intent: to instill fear into his mind and persuade him to make mistakes that he normally wouldn't make? Or was it his gut instinct telling him that the Ascendancy was merely using this to prepare for something much worse than he was seeing? It would be an excellent explanation of his fears as well as an example of the cunning of the Chiss enemy that he faced before him. After all, they had wisely used their Killik allies as shields as well as some other allies for distracting him.

"Fortify defenses and be prepared for anything that they throw. If the transports break into the ships, have the soldiers do what they can to kill the passengers before they can do anything. Aside from that, just keep a vigilant lookout for anything with the stamp of the Ascendancy on it," he added._ I have the feeling that they'll have a part to play in the final outcome before this is over_ he thought.

**Onimi found himself fascinated** by the sudden turn of events that were playing before the recorder that he and Shimrra used to view the battle. Czulkang suddenly desired his son to leave the area and had barked orders almost one right after the other like a common dog. _Never have I seen him this weak before but then maybe it isn't weakness so much as some sort of insight_ he thought. Being a Warmaster came with certain abilities such as a strange, sudden insight into the future of virtually any battle against virtually any enemy which made battles between each other very difficult to finish.

But this was an enemy who didn't have that advantageous insight yet had somehow been able to calculate many of Czulkang's movements without much effort. He wondered if the Force helped any of these officers or if it was just sheer cunning in the case of many of the officers opposing Czulkang Lah. Maybe it was just blind luck or the "will of the Force" as their Jedi Knights called it whenever something like this happened.

"Why does Czulkang suddenly shout out these orders to his troopers when he has not done this before?" Shimrra asked suddenly. Sometimes, the Supreme Overlord had a tendency to surprise Onimi with the things that he would come out and ask but this was far from the worst of such things. However, he did wish that Shimrra at least got his complete and utter attention before he made such comments. "Milord, I would have no way of knowing for I am no Warmaster but I would assume that Czulkang's natural insight tells him of something brewing where we cannot see it," Onimi answered.

"What does that secret power of yours tell you about whatever this something might be?" Shimrra inquired. "That it is very dangerous and may be capable of destroying enough of the Main Fleet to force us into a truce for our own survival if not complete defeat on our part," Onimi answered calmly. Indeed, this was what he had seen in a vision granted him by the Force not too long before this battle began but he couldn't quite put a finger on what might be the source of it all. Shimrra nodded and continued to view the screen that displayed before him and his Court Jester with content of that.

Onimi's prophecies never failed to come true but he was internally afraid that if this one did, it would mean shaming the Yuuzhan Vong. Worse, the people who did not participate in this war would have further reasons to lose respect and loyalty to Shimrra the Supreme Overlord. For how would they be able to forget that he was the one forced into a defeat that shattered his own idea of conquest? How would they be able to forget that by failing here, he would have insulted the greatest of all their deities?

The religious fanatics would use this as a protest against the rule of Shimrra and a need for someone like Shimrra's enemy Quoreal to take his place. Granted, Quoreal's conservative nature had cost him his throne and his life but there were those who still loved him for what he had done in his time. Adhering to tradition was never one of the specialties of Shimrra but he tried it whenever it suited his goals of complete domination over the entirety of the universe. However, the totality of adherence displayed by Quoreal was definitely not to be pursued due to the dangers Shimrra himself brought up.

Still, such was his gullibility as a result of finding the balance that someone like Onimi could very easily ensnare him with promises of grandeur. It was when Onimi had once again fallen victim to the distractions that came with the thought of having so successfully controlled Shimrra that the worst came. "What in the name of all the sacred gods is happening before my eyes?" Shimrra demanded immediately. Onimi was initially taken aback himself but then he saw that the ships comprising the Main Fleet were being destroyed from the inside, excluding Czulkang's personal cruiser.

So that's what these allies were up to and that's why Czulkang wanted to get his son to safety._ The enemy is destroying the ships and weakening the Main Fleet as much as possible before the arrival of their Chiss friends_ Onimi thought but didn't say. "Quite a formidable counterattack on the part of our enemies if you ask me, milord," he said aloud and calmly too. This was indeed an interesting twist in the story of the War in The Void but this didn't conclude it, not yet.

**Arden was pleased to** see that thirteen of the twenty-four enemy ships had already been destroyed under her plan with at least another seven on the way. Now, she saw the beginnings of a retaliation from the Yuuzhan Vong starfighters forming not too far away from her ship. The fighters landed in the hangar bay whenever they could and poured in squadron upon squadron of soldiers. "Depa, to the hangar bay: we have enemies to deal with now," Arden ordered to her apprentice.

The younger woman was quick to follow under the heels of her Mistress, who prepared for the upcoming fight by unsheathing her sword and then duplicating it with the scabbard. This way, she had two blades with which to fight the enemy and none of the handicaps of holding on to the scabbard. Depa ignited her own lightsaber as well, the orange blade hissing to life and surprising some of the nearby Yuuzhan Vong for most had probably never seen a lightsaber before. It was this sort of curious surprise that Arden was counting on to stall them until she had a plan of attack ready for them to bear.

Luckily, she was light on her feet physically and mentally, making it not too long before she began using energy-based attacks against her enemy. These includes crescent blades of energy cast from her swords which sliced the soldiers with almost the same effect as a lightsaber would have. The only difference was that it didn't come with the cauterization feature and thus, blood spilled everywhere. Depa was not too far behind, shooting spurts of fire from one hand and deflecting laserfire with her lightsaber in the other one.

Her skills in Vaapad caught the closest ones completely off guard and her use of pyrokinesis as well as Force lightning dealt with the rest of those in her path. Arden also used Force Powers unrelated to her blade such as Force Destruction and even Kinetite, sending waves of death almost everywhere. Depa tested Force Repulse and was surprised to see that it worked only for throwing Yuuzhan Vong away from her but not kill them in the process which cast Force Push aside for future use. Luckily for her, Arden encouraged this sort of planning since they had little knowledge of what killed their enemies.

"Mistress, Battle Meld!" Depa shouted. Arden nodded, figuring that perhaps now, it might be best to give it a shot and see if it stemmed the tide at all. It was worth a shot despite what they already knew about telepathy and telekinesis failing against the Yuuzhan Vong's immunity. Unfortunately, the effects of the Battle Meld were slight if present and the tide was soon turning more to defeat than not.

"Miladies, escape pods are available if you wish to take them out of this cruiser. Scanners indicate that Chiss Ascendancy-model scout fighters have just come out of hyperspace. It won't be long now before the rest of the fleet shows up and blasts everything to hell," Livy said, fighting with them. "Reserve it for us by any means necessary, we're getting out of here whether or not we have to slaughter a thousand of these scum in the process," Arden replied, nodding just before saying so.

"Mistress, perhaps a little something to throw them off may help us on our way out?" Depa suggested. Arden nodded and immediately positioned herself beside her apprentice for one massive wave of Kinetite energy that sent many Yuuzhan Vong flying and killed those caught in the center of it. "Good thinking, my apprentice and now for our escape off this ship and hopefully back to Admiral Thrawn," Arden said.

Smiling, Depa was pleased to see that her idea had made her Mistress proud for those few moments of pride truly motivated her more than anything since their time together began. Using her skills with a lightsaber, Depa made sure that no laser from the enemy harmed her or her Mistress. This helped them reach the escape pods without much hindrance but it was here where Livy froze in thought. "What is it, my friend?" Arden asked.

"I've got an idea for how I can help in this war beyond your escape but I don't think you'll like it," he answered. When Arden asked him to explain, he did by saying that he would take his cruiser and its remaining crew and pilot it right into the mothership on the Main Fleet. "Or at least one of the big ones closest to it... it's a suicidal run but an effective one, usually," he added calmly. _Skywalker did a similar thing on Ryloth once although he managed to escape before the cruiser exploded_ Depa thought.

"If you feel that is what's best for saving us and honoring your people's memory, you may go ahead and do so. I truly did wish to take you to where your homeworld was but it looks as though I will have to hand that knowledge over to the bounty hunting members of your people," Arden stated sadly. "Even they are far more honorable than most in that profession and deserve the knowledge just as much as we do. Do not fear for me or those who accompany me, we know the risks and we know them well; we always did from the moment you recruited us," Livy replied.

"Wield my husband's hammer and wield it well, my friend. He would be pleased to know that it is in the hands of someone capable," Arden said after a pause for silence. Livy nodded, smiling and thanking her for allowing him to do this in her name as well as Xendor's name and honor. "Time to abandon ship, my apprentice," Arden said.

Depa nodded, slipping into the escape pod after deflecting one last green bolt of the enemy fire, her Mistress following suit. The hatch shut closed until it was airtight and Livy, the last real leader of the Ember of Vahla, turned to face his enemy and begin his mission. Waiting until he heard the launching of the pod that carried his Mistresses to safety, wherever that may be, he held prepared for the final fight. After the rest of the survivors amongst his people joined him on the bridge, he made the final push to the controls and the start of his suicidal plan to help destroy the enemy forevermore.

**Admiral Thrawn couldn't believe** the incompetence of the Council that led the Chiss Ascendancy. First, they banished him to Irkalla for his willingness to violate the code if that was what it took to obtain victory. Then they take half of the resources he made for himself and employed it into their service for complete and total annihilation of whatever remained in the Void. Finally, they vowed to include even their own ships and the remainder of the Killiks in the process of their extermination there.

That, in itself, was a violation worse than anything he had done to warrant his own exile at their hands. But to ask the Admiral to represent them in making a truce with a high-ranking official of the Yuuzhan Vong afterwards made this treason absolutely unforgivable. His greatest hope now was that Arden and Depa could forgive him for having to abandon them despite his promise not to do that. After all, Depa's Force Choke could've killed him had Arden not spoken up, making him grateful to be alive.

He owed her a debt now that she had saved him from the wrath of her apprentice, a wrath he had once felt during the Outbound Flight Expedition at the hands of Jorus C'baoth. Now, as he helplessly watched the Armada assemble outside the Void, his fingers remained crossed for them. _Those two were my greatest triumphs out here in this desolate place, more than the Talisman would be_ he told himself with a mixture of sadness and happiness. It was a mixture that would linger...


	3. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

"Mistress, are we doing the right thing by allowing Livy and his people to be wiped out in exchange for victory? We've already lost the Sorcerers of Tund and if we lost the Vahla, it could mean the end of all of our plans," Depa asked. Arden had never really thought of that until after she and her apprentice had made their escape from their doomed cruiser and the Vahla still trapped in it. While she could admit that she honestly didn't think so, she wouldn't deny that it had to be done for their sake.

Livy wanted his people to go out with an honorable fight and Arden had vowed to honor his service by revealing the location of their homeworld to him and his people. Now all there would be left of the Vahla were the bounty hunters that had broken off from the culture for their own pursuits. However, Livy had mentioned that they were honorable people and would take kindly to knowledge of their homeland just as much as he would have had he lived to reap the benefit of it. "Apprentice, I didn't want to do it anymore than you did but in war, those sorts of choices often need to be made," she said.

"Where do we go now? This escape pod won't last much longer than a standard hour in the way of fuel and our oxygen will be out in another two, after that. Unless we're able to somehow use the Force to plot out our travel, we're not getting out of this alive," Depa inquired. Initially, Arden couldn't think of anything in response to that for her reluctance to use the Talisman had increased recently.

Despite its inviolable oath that it would never try to take possession or advantage of her again, she still didn't trust the spirit that dwelled within the artifact and gave it power. However, as the minutes slowly ticked on by, she began to realize that she would have no choice but to rely on it to save them. "Depa, do you remember how to go into a Trance thus conserving your energies for an abnormally long period of time?" Arden replied. "Yes Mistress, I do," Depa answered.

"Go ahead and go into a trance, I am going to see if the Talisman can create a shield that will ward off the worse effects of being trapped in space. I'll have it do so until someone has found us or we are arriving onto a planet that can support life," Arden requested. Depa nodded and began the inhalation and exhalation of air that was required to enter the Trance whilst Arden consulted the artifact._ Kashi Mer, I have need of your power to protect us from the worst of the effects sure to be felt if we remain in space until either someone has found us or we approach a life-supporting world_ Arden said, wasting no time in her consultation of the Talisman in her hands.

_That isn't beyond my power, I shall began creating the shield immediately. All you need do is join your apprentice in a trance whilst I apply my power to your protection. Be warned though, you can expect for you and your apprentice to become cryogenically frozen if trapped long enough_ it replied to her._ That's a risk I'm more than willing to take so long as we can escape the Ascendancy and return to gain our vengeance upon them for their treachery_ Arden stated.

The Talisman told her that it was beginning work now and thus, Arden joined her apprentice in a sleep not unlike the one she had been put into until a few months before. While that one lasted twenty-five thousand years, Arden doubted this would last even a tenth of that full length. Such a hibernation as her first one was almost one in a million and she was lucky to be alive at all after that. However, she got the impression that it was going to be a long while before they ever saw another lifeform again whether Chiss, Killik, Yuuzhan Vong, or something else; a worthy risk to take for them.

**Thrawn sat on a** chair next to his holoprojector in thought over the course that this battle had so quickly taken. First, it looked as though his victory against the Yuuzhan Vong would secure his permanent return into the Ascendancy then it turned into his defeat. The Ascendancy would now be taking credit for the victory that was supposed to be his and his alone to enjoy. Cunning little rats, the lot of them but no matter: they will pay soon enough for this insolence Thrawn thought.

Then he saw the most intriguing thing he could see for the day: thirteen of the enemy cruisers exploded in near-simultaneity. A few seconds later and seven more fell victim (excluding one damaged beyond any form of repair possible for them) to the very same thing that had killed off the first thirteen. That left only four ships, including the cruiser of the Warmaster, remaining in space which wasn't much for the Ascendancy to blast off. _This will still be very much my victory more than it will be the Ascendany's: they're just cleaning up what my allies have left behind_ he thought with a smile.

The will of the Force had been kind to him despite Depa's thwarted attempt to strike him down in her anger, almost too kind actually. But it didn't matter to the young Admiral who seldom ever received as great a kindness as this, not at the moment anyway. However, the beauty of it was that when the Ascendancy arrived to put their stamp on this victory, it would be mostly out of pride. They would not want to admit that one man had carried them to victory more than their combined might did.

It would also further their hubris to have this very man act as their diplomat in establishing terms with the Yuuzhan Vong enemy that they faced now. Brutish, shoddy, and elementary but such things had a purpose when they were used right though the amount of times that occurred was minimal at the best. And now, the Ascendancy's forerunners had arrived which meant that it was only a matter of time before the true destroyers arrived to finish the job Thrawn had started. Chuckling, he realized that even when they completely finished this war for all time, this was still his victory and he was proud of that.

**Programming the ship to** apply all power to the forward thrusters, Livy merely needed help steering the ship on the right course. "People of the Ember, before we die, remember that you have committed a great service in the name of the Mother. You have honored her ways and fought like the warriors you are to the end and now, as chief, I ask one last thing of you. Purge this ship of any remaining Yuuzhan Vong soldiers and prepare to martyr yourselves for Arden Lyn!" he exclaimed.

He was never good at speeches but that one was enough to rally his people into combat against the enemy. Then he thought it over and decided to put the ship on autopilot and help them exterminate the very enemy he had asked them to purge from the this cruiser. Using the hammer as a bludgeon initially, he then managed to harness some of the energy within it and channel it in fiery waves. Everywhere the hammer pointed, fire flew that destroyed all Yuuzhan Vong in its path whilst sparing the Ember of Vahla that might have been caught in its path.

_No wonder why my Northerner comrade loved this hammer so much: it has powers beyond anything I could imagine_ Livy thought but didn't say as he continued slamming it into skulls. One blow was enough to crush the faceplate of many Yuuzhan Vong's heads, squeezing their eyeballs and making blood erupt from within their throats. He also heard the nasal cartilage break and travel up their brain canals, killing them an instant before they fell to the ground. The ringing of the hammer contacting their skin was hardly needed to prove their death although it was a nice tune to hear.

The fire also worked for burning down enemies that were far enough away to avoid being hit by the hammer. _This is proving to be easier than I thought it would be, soon we'll be ready for the final stages of our plan_ Livy thought with an enthused smile. As he had foreseen, the Yuuzhan Vong on the ship were soon purged and enough Vahla remained to guide the ship towards its target. And the target was the last remaining escort-class cruiser that Yuuzhan Vong could throw at their cruiser.

Destroying it would benefit them for the most important reason of exposing the Warmaster cruiser to the Ascendancy when they finally arrived. Thus, their allies would be able to finish off what remained and either call a truce with the Yuuzhan Vong or wipe them out forevermore. Personally, Livy hoped for the latter but he was more than willing to accept the former if it absolutely came down to that. He was a man of absolutes more than anything and would continue to be that way in the final moments before his death, which he foresaw coming before his eyes.

**"What is that cruiser** doing?" Czulkang asked, thinking aloud for once. "Judging by the trajectory, sir, it appears as though it's headed straight for us. We'll never be able to maneuver out of the way and we can't blast it out of the space in time either," one of his officers answered. "And why not?" Czulkang inquired.

"Because even if we did, it's still so close it would actually be deadlier to shoot at it than not," the officer replied. "What can we do to stop it?" Czulkang asked after pausing for thought. "Our smaller ships wouldn't be able to stop it, only our escort class would be able to do that. Essentially, we'd have to sacrifice it in order to survive this," the officer told him, reluctant to admit it.

"Then do it," Czulkang ordered. The officer nodded and went to obey his master's will almost completely without question. "Oh, someone tell me: is my son still in the city like I asked him?" he added after pausing to see what he had forgotten. "Yes milord, Tsavong has not left the hangar bay on _Zhaetor-zhae a Shimrra_ since you ordered him to go there," another officer answered him. "Good, once this is over, order him to remain there and await my arrival: the Chiss Ascendancy has won," Czulkang said.

"Sir?" the first officer inquired. "War is one either through doing the most damage to the enemy or by stalling until they're no longer interested. The Chiss Ascendancy has managed to do the former even if the latter had been their original intent from the beginning. It's been an honor serving with you all and I hope that your souls shall join our brothers with the gods, honorably," Czulkang explained.

Then he left them to take charge until the end came: he would much rather join his son and be around in case the Ascendancy called for a truce than dead and floating in space._ Besides that, Shimrra cannot create truces worth a shit without that Jester of his at his side_ he added mentally. Czulkang Lah was a traditionalist and had initially not supported the transfer of power from Quoreal to Shimrra but had grown to somewhat accept it. Still, there were just some things he was unwilling to do even if ordered to and dying when it wasn't needed was not one of them.

**Thrawn watched as the** escort-class cruisers of the Chiss Ascendancy came out of hyperspace, followed by the more massive Destroyer-class ships they protected. The cannons on all the ships were ready to fire and Thrawn watched as they charged their shots before firing. He heard the comm channel buzz with life at the sound of officers asking their troops were ready and ordering them to fire. Then he braced himself for the result of all the power in all the shots that would be fired from the Chiss ships.

Having seen an escape pod escape from his cruiser earlier, he suspected Arden had gotten out alive with her apprentice. And when his cruiser was thrust into the escort-class cruiser of the enemy, he knew that this would most definitely be his victory for all time. _The Ascendancy just wants to say it's theirs for the history books to deliver to the future generations. Allow them this, no one would believe you anyway even if you made a convincing argument in your favor_ Thrawn thought silently.

After the explosion of the cruiser contacting the escort-class enemy ship, he watched as the lasers of the Ascendancy Fleet annihilated the rest. It was an impressive display of power but hardly befitting of only eliminating four ships in a single burst of energy. Nonetheless, it had done its work: the entire Main and Southwestern fleets of the Yuuzhan Vong were wiped out for good. Any other forces would easily be rallied and the Ascendancy could advance on the floating city if they desired to do so.

However, Thrawn knew better than to believe that they would and when Moses the head of the Ascendancy Council called again, he went to his shuttle. He was going to meet the Council in the Void for the truce meeting he was going to have with the representative of the Yuuzhan Vong. Hopefully, the Supreme Overlord himself came but Thrawn knew better than to count on the head of the pack coming. It would suffice to meet with someone close though, someone who could at least discuss diplomacy and have almost as much power as the Overlord.

**Czulkang had anticipated the** destruction of his ship and had to admit that he wasn't overtly emotional from it. In war, emotion was almost immediately forbidden except for when you were mourning those that had died in battle if they were your friends. But now, the Ascendancy was waving the flag of truce... they wanted a pact with the Yuuzhan Vong after nearly destroying them? Why was that, was it a trap designed for the Supreme Overlord and if so, should he go instead?

Technically it was his mess so he probably did have to go in the long run but he had to know why it was that they called a truce._ It's out of character for our enemy unless this was not his doing but the doing of someone superior to him_ Czulkang thought silently. "Commander, arrange an escort to accompany me and my son to the head of the Ascendancy fleet. Apparently they want a truce with us after all these years fighting and managing to wipe out our fleets," he ordered aloud.

"Yes sir, it shall be done," the Commander he spoke to answered. "Father, you wish me to attend a committee meeting with the enemy? You know I don't do well in long talks," Tsavong asked. "True but you do well when you're fighting and I need your skills there if it's a trap, I hope that isn't too much to ask of you?" Czulkang answered.

Tsavong smiled, knowing his father was right to have him come along in case it was a trap designed to ensnare the Supreme Overlord._ He is confident that my skills can carry us through with the help of the escort soldiers. At last, I've obtained some more respect from my father_ he said to himself. Readying his amphistaff, he told his father that he was ready to go with him when his escort was ready to join them on the journey to the meeting.

**"Good news Mitth'raw'nuruodo:** you won't be meeting the treacherous Supreme Overlord. However, you will be meeting the man who has commanded their forces since the war again. He is Warmaster Czulkang Lah and unlike his son, Tsavong, he has been blessed real with diplomatic skills. Your only fear shall be provoking his son and the escort he will surely have to fight against us for some reason," Moses explained when he arrived.

"Dispense with the mockery and take me to the rendezvous point if one has already been designated for us," Thrawn replied. He had no love for Moses and didn't hesitate to prove it now nor at any other time he had a chance to do so. "You're already at the designated point: Czulkang, his son, and his escort will be boarding our ship and meeting you in the Council Chambers," Moses stated. _At least he's quick about something other than waving his weight around at me_ Thrawn thought.

And indeed, Moses was the most grotesque Chiss that Thrawn or anyone else could imagine seeing: he was at least four-hundred pounds of pure fat with a massive goiter in his neck. The other Council members were similarly fat and incompetent though none had Moses' goiter. "Why don't you speak with Czulkang and Tsavong, I'm sure they would love to meet the head of our people?" Thrawn asked. "Do not mock me further Mitth'raw'nuruodo or you will pay the consequences for it," Moses answered.

Thrawn half-smiled, proud that he had done his work in making Moses irrational and angry in his thoughts._ It will be most useful should he decide to attack me during negotiations or have an assassin do it_Thrawn thought to himself, enjoying the idea it brought. Proceeding to the chambers, Thrawn sat down on what would be his side of the table and waited for Czulkang and his son to come. Negotiating with the Yuuzhan Vong, he realized, would be an exciting new thing that he had never done before.

**Inserting a tizowyrm into** his ear and doing the same for his son, Czulkang knew he was prepared to speak to whoever represented the Chiss Ascendancy in negotiations. "Why do we need these, father?" Tsavong asked. "Without them, we have no ability to interpret or speak the enemy tongue unless we learn it," Czulkang answered. Tsavong nodded and looked a little surprised that the insects had such beneficial uses for his people, apparently they weren't highlighted in school.

"In that case, now that we have our interpreters, let's be on our way to the negotiations," Tsavong stated proudly. "This will require no short amount of tact, grace, and subtlety which is why you will leave the talking to me as much as possible," Czulkang warned. Tsavong bowed, understanding his father's intent and vowing to obey to the best of his ability, no more than that needing to be asked.

Using a gunship, the two of them traversed across the space needing to be conquered in order to reach the head of the Chiss Ascendancy Main Fleet. Arriving aboard the ship, he was immediately surprised by the lack of droids present in the facility, an unusual sight._ That Jedi woman Vergere had mentioned that this galaxy had a heavy reliance on droids for most of their laborious deeds. I wonder if the Chiss do their own labor with their own hands whenever possible and not with aid_ he thought.

"A battalion, father," Tsavong said. Czulkang came out of his thoughts and noticed a Chiss Ascendancy battalion approaching and greeted the officer in charge. "We have been expecting you, Warmaster Lah. Admiral Thrawn is waiting for you in the Council Chambers," the officer stated calmly. Then he gestured with his head and led Czulkang and Tsavong down a hallway that guided them to these 'Council Chambers' that the officer spoke of.

Behind him, the escort soldiers began making a circular formation to protect him and Tsavong in case the Chiss were up to no good. "That won't be necessary men, just cover our flanks for now," he ordered. They obeyed his orders but it wasn't very long before they arrived at the rather unimpressive Council Chambers that the officer had mentioned earlier. "Greetings Warmaster Lah, I am Admiral Thrawn of the Chiss Ascendancy and I have been your adversary in this war," a man in white stated.

"Admiral Thrawn, I must say that it is a rare honor for a man like me to meet my adversary on diplomatic terms. In the past, I have only met my enemies long enough to kill them but then, there is still room in my life for 'first times'. Before we continue further, I'd like to introduce my son Tsavong the heir to my power and a very fine warrior," Czulkang replied, pointing to his whilst introducing him.

Tsavong bowed as per formal custom and said that it was an honor to meet the man who had most troubled his father during the war. "Ha, your father's cunning has caught me off guard far more than I have ever had happen with anyone else. Perhaps, he is the most respectable opponent that I have ever faced," Thrawn replied, chuckling. "Thank you and now, if you have no other formalities to dispense, I would like to bring the negotiations underway," Czulkang requested.

"I am a man of few formalities and I have dispersed all I have already, it would appear you have done the same. Formalities aside, let us begin the negotiations for future Chiss-Yuuzhan Vong interactions," Thrawn agreed. Tsavong watched intently as Czulkang and Thrawn thought over agreeable terms. He wondered if the Supreme Overlord Shimrra or Intendant Anor could do any better than his father was already doing.

_Nom Anor is all about talk, negotiations, business sense, and such other things. But I wonder if he would be any good for this_ Tsavong thought. Crossing his arms, he continued to watch the debate before his eyes. It was history in the making and he would not miss a word of it, not now.


	4. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

"Despite the Main Fleet being utterly annihilated, I'm amazed Czulkang came out of it alive to negotiate with the enemy now," Shimrra stated. "Perhaps he deliberately designed the Fleet for destruction so that the war could finally end. Even the most bloodthirsty Warmaster can drink his fill and perhaps, Czulkang has finally drank his," Onimi explained. "You defend him and yet he has given you no respect to warrant it, why?" Shimrra asked.

"I do not defend him, milord. However, there is no denying that everyone tires of everything they like one way or the other, no matter how long it takes," Onimi replied. "I guess you're right about that but it still doesn't explain why he brought his son along with him if he anticipated this," Shimrra said. "Indeed not, milord but I would be willing to bet that Czulkang did so for academic purposes as has been typical of him," Onimi admitted.

"The very fact that he brings his son into such a dangerous war zone even if for academic purposes is idiotic on anyone's part. That would go to include Warmaster Czulkang Lah, endangering Tsavong like that," Shimrra hissed. "No, not endangerment but custom: the son of a Warmaster is always introduced to war in as observatory of a matter as possible. If he can get him so that he can watch the war from a few yards away, he will and that is the way it's been," Onimi explained.

He was surprised by his own knowledge of the customs of the caste but then he did have to know these things in order to better control the Supreme Overlord. After all, if he said one thing that Shimrra and Onimi both knew to be wrong then the Jester could expect to be called out on it. _Nonetheless, there are moments where_ _Shimrra gives me trouble even so though I wonder why_ Onimi thought silently. "So you are defending him despite his disrespect towards you even if you are saying that you're not doing it," Shimrra stated.

"As I said before milord, I do not defend him: in his place, who knows how long it would take you to gorge yourself on blood. In his place, I know it would be almost impossible for me to do the same even if the Main Fleet was destroyed before my eyes," Onimi said, shaking his head. _Why he thinks I have any respect for that man just because of my comment is beyond me_ Onimi thought. "Interesting that you should say that about both yourself and me however, I now say that your view does not punish or reward one particular person; not for long anyway," Shimrra said.

"Finally milord understands why I am polite and formal to anyone and everyone besides the Code ordering me to be," Onimi stated. He has some sense at least and doesn't need much persuasion to be made docile again the Jester thought silently. After that little discussion, Onimi decided to retire to his headquarters whilst his lord continued to carry out his duties. He had done enough controlling and puppetry for one day but he would return to it tomorrow as he always did.

**Arden Lyn had floated** off into the Trance but it wasn't long before the Talisman had shielded them away from the worst of the Void's effects on her body. But soon after doing so, the Talisman began to run visions into Arden's head, visions of things she had never known. It mainly concerned what had happened with her family when she joined Xendor's Legions of Lettow. The Talisman also showed some memories of her childhood from before she had met Xendor and fallen in love with him.

But she something she knew was from her past but was not a memory of hers: she saw her mother giving birth to a child that wasn't her. She saw a faceless figure she knew to be her father looking down at her, likely in disgust considering the circumstances of Arden's mother's death. The poor woman had died giving birth to a bastard child of one of her clients for she had been a prostitute. Whores were some of the most patronized women in a society that had already proven very patriarchal and was in favor of the man being in control.

_Animals and violators, all of them except for Xendor. He never betrayed my trust and took me against my own will Arden told herself. But how often did he wish he could, I wonder hm?_ Kashi Mer asked. _Very often, guilty as charged, but he never did take me without consent_ Arden answered.

As she slept, the Talisman continued to show her many things from her past that had occurred in unity with her own deeds in that forgotten time. _Why do you show me all this that is long since dead and gone?_ Arden asked. _When you are close to death, you will understand why I do this_ Kashi Mer answered. Mentally, Arden shook her head and had to admit that the Talisman had a mysterious way of doing things that she wondered was a result of being able to use the Force to see anything.

Sensing that Depa was just as relaxed as her, she wondered if she could somehow find the mechanism that allowed others to trigger a similar trance. Within that, perhaps she could find the secret to becoming immune to such spells so that they cannot do it again. For twenty-five thousand years, she had laid dormant in a similar spell to this and was not about to go through it again if it was avoidable. Additionally, to make it all more interesting, she would teach her apprentice the same thing since she too had been in a spell not unlike what Arden herself had experienced.

Arden also noticed that her apprentice was gifted in telepathy and could communicate to her through her mind if either one had a question for the other._ I wonder if we could play a game in the mind so that even if our bodies are in a trance, our minds aren't bored_ she asked herself silently._ Please don't try to distract me with that, you'll make me drop out of the trance accidentally_ she heard her apprentice say in her head. Smiling literally, Arden admitted that her apprentice's abilities sometimes surprised even her and made her wonder why they weren't already equals.

But Arden reminded herself that there was still much of the true nature of the Dark Side that Depa had yet to learn. She was surprised by her own knowledge of her secrets and she wondered if the Talisman secretly delivered much of this knowledge into her head, subtly influencing her current mindset. It was manipulation of a somewhat cunning sort but Arden knew she couldn't have learned everything from Xendor. He had been killed before even he could discover all the secrets that the Talisman somehow knew already; whether that was influenced by the creator or not would always be a mystery.

**"In my land, truce** terms were often based on the winner dominating for their own benefit and not the benefit of the defeat. Since you defeated me, I allow you to propose terms that work to your benefit and yours alone," Czulkang stated. "And disrespect my greatest adversary's good name so shamelessly? Nay, I will do no such thing but I will propose terms that might be beneficial to us all," Thrawn replied.

"Name your terms then," Czulkang stated, interested in what Thrawn could possibly offer him. "Firstly, the Yuuzhan Vong are not to engage any part of this galaxy for forty years. At the current rate of destruction, any military engagement would see the complete annihilation of all your great people. Since I don't want that, I want you to have time to regrow your numbers before you fight again," Thrawn began.

"You have my interest, continue," Czulkang said, leaning his face into his crossed hands in thought. Tsavong was a little surprised that his father would find these strange terms interesting and made note of it for later. "Next, if there is to be any contact between the Yuuzhan Vong and the Chiss Ascendancy as well as the Killiks, it should be as an act of commerce. You import resources from food to medicine that is uniquely of your people and we will do the same, forming an alliance," Thrawn said.

_An alliance with enemies? This would never have been what I would do but let's see if father agrees to it_ Tsavong thought. "Custom forbids me from providing you literal resources but our people are allowed to provide you knowledge of our culture should any of you wish to join us. I promise that that is as best as you can get to having a mutually beneficial relationship with us," Czulkang said.

"Very well then, let it be written and perhaps it would be best that we provide only knowledge in case some of your own people wish to join us as well," Thrawn replied, shrugging as a yield. Tsavong smiled, proud that his father would not forsake one of the most important traditions of their people. That tradition was to never share anything uniquely theirs except for knowledge with an Infidel like Thrawn. "Is there anything else that you wish of me, Admiral Thrawn?" Czulkang inquired after a moment to think over what they had covered so far.

"If it isn't impossible, I would like your Supreme Overlord to make yearly visits to the Chiss Ascendancy Council in order to make sure that terms are being followed through. It would, after all, insure that there is no future warring whilst the forty years are in effect," Thrawn suggested. "Unfortunately, the Supreme Overlord is not allowed to leave his city but we can have Intendant Anor do that," Czulkang replied. "Very well, Intendant Nom Anor will be the one to insure that terms are being met on our front every year," Thrawn said, again yielding although a little more irritated this time.

_I wonder why he has such desire to meet the Supreme Overlord, is it to assassinate him with the help of his own people? Is it so he can hold us liable if we violate the terms?_ Tsavong asked himself with a raised eyebrow. "You have been most generous Admiral Thrawn, more so than I expected but hear this: if Intendant Thrawn is to visit your people, we demand an exchange," Czulkang said.

"An exchange?" Thrawn inquired. "An equivalent to Intendant Anor must also visit our people every year to insure terms are being met on our front. That way, if both officers are on opposite sides, one can hold the other hostage to punish the violating side," Czulkang explained. "Ah, of course, I will see if I can get one of the Council members to do that but I can do it if need be," Thrawn stated.

"Very well, I shall await your response when the decision of who will represent your people is made," Czulkang added. Thrawn nodded, bowing in respect after doing so, more than willing to accept those terms as they presently were. "Is there anything else that you would like to suggest to me as I have nothing else to suggest to you?" Thrawn asked after a moment. Czulkang turned to his son to see if Tsavong could think of anything else that would work to the benefit of both of the warring sides.

At first, Tsavong had nothing to offer but then it occurred to him that Arden Lyn and possibly her apprentice were floating in the middle of space somewhere. Before being killed, one of his spies had reported seeing two women in black launching an escape pod from the ship, floating off into the Void. "There is one thing that can be added: we are, after all, intending to start a semi-commercial relationship for the betterment of our people, neh?" Tsavong asked. "State your proposal, I'm interested," Thrawn answered.

"Let the Yuuzhan Vong be allowed lenience to search for survivors in the wreckage or people who can be revived with medical help. We will allow the Chiss and any Killiks the same privilege in return for this right on our part," Tsavong explained. _A convenient opportunity, perhaps there is still time to rescue Arden and Depa before they float off beyond my sight_ Thrawn thought. "What an excellent idea, let it be added to the treaty of the Yuuzhan Vong and the Chiss Ascendancy," he replied.

Smiling and nodding, Czulkang acknowledged his son's gesture for approval from his comment about search parties. "Anything else besides what your son has offered, Czulkang?" Thrawn asked. The Warmaster looked around the ship, thinking as to whether or not there was indeed anything else. Then he shook his head and rose to his feet, extending a hand to Thrawn in thanks for the discussion.

"It was a most enlightening insight into the ways of your people and if everyone of them were as respectable as you, I would be happier with my defeat than I already am," he added. "It was a pleasure and I wish long life for you and your son," Thrawn replied in agreement. "I have already lived more years than I wish to brag off to you but you may wish long life to my son," Czulkang stated. "An honor and a privilege to meet you both, regardless however, would either of you like some wine before you leave?" Thrawn asked.

"No, have it for yourself if you wish but we have less of a tolerance for alcohol than virtually any species you can name both physically and mentally," Czulkang said, extending his palm out in rejection. "A pity that is so but not everything can go smoothly I suppose," Thrawn stated. "Long life to you, mighty Admiral," Czulkang said with a bow before leaving and ordering his men to do the same._ Czulkang is gifted with diplomatic abilities but his son is also very cunning in his own right, I must watch out if I do not wish to be fighting either one of them again_ Thrawn told himself.

**"The war is over,** peace has been established with the enemy, and now we begin to rebuild," Onimi said. "Of all the Warmasters respected by the people, I hate Czulkang the most," Shimrra stated. "Why?" Onimi asked. "Because he has the tendency to be the most out of character for a Warmaster, something that's always irritated me about him," Shimrra answered.

"He is not a traditionalist just as you are not and yet you are irritated at a man with a line of thought not completely unlike your own?" Onimi inquired. This was a surprise to him but he wondered if being an anti-traditionalist sometimes came at the price of lashing out at their fellow anti-traditionalists. _Ironic that they can vow to stand united against their traditionalist foes when need be yet turn on each other after the fighting is over or is 'hypocritical' the correct word to describe this speech?_ _After all, the anti-traditionalists vow to stand together against a divided enemy yet divide each other still_ Onimi thought to himself.

"I guess you could say that the differences we noticed in each other early on were too great for us to ever truly get along," Shimrra explained. "That should be no reason to hate him unless he insulted you during the notice of your differences," Onimi suggested. "I have my reasons, be content with that, Court Jester!" Shimrra hissed, using the rank to patronize him. I think perhaps I will, you will be needing some independence to be an even better pawn Onimi thought to himself.

But this wasn't over, not just yet: they would still need to know what terms Warmaster Czulkang Lah had agreed to with the enemy. If they hindered the future of the people in any way, he would need to be dealt with. Even if Czulkang had preached change, he would never dare go as far as to demand a complete reconstruction of their culture from the root up. It was out of character for even him thought perhaps it wasn't beyond the likings of Intendant Nom Anor, the ultimate enemy of Shimrra.

Onimi knew he need to figure something out about what to do with him but he couldn't quite put his finger on what could be done. _He is far too cunning to fall for any of the traps that would normally ensnare his fellow officers. I need a damning piece of information about him and his background in order to even stand a chance of beating him down without retribution. Intendants reserve the right to do that even to the Supreme Overlord if they desired it to be so_ he thought.

**Nom Anor received his** news faster than most of his caste did, his means allowed him to meet the ends if needed. However, he was surprised at how long it took for news of the outcome of the war to be delivered and even more so when he heard of the defeat. If Czulkang is wise, he will have either arranged a means by which we can find Arden or he will have encouraged his son to he thought. Though Tsavong wasn't as cunning a man as his father was, he could still turn out to be very effective with the proper motivation from time to time.

When Czulkang and Tsavong returned from establishing the truce, Anor immediately demanded an audience with them, knowing better than to wait for Shimrra to snatch them up first. "What is our situation?" Nom asked. "The Main Fleet and the southwesterners have been destroyed to the last man and all remaining forces have been ordered to withdraw. I have made peace with Admiral Thrawn and the future nature of our relationship with him shall be semi-commercial," Czulkang answered calmly.

"And what of the girl!?" Nom demanded almost immediately, his vow to not let her go still strong. "I have already requested leniency between the Chiss and the Yuuzhan Vong to search the wreckage of the battle for survival, the request was granted," Tsavong interjected. Nom calmed a little bit at that and asked him what other terms had been established with the Chiss Admiral. "I have also put in a request that a Chiss Ascendancy Councilman be sent to make sure we are delivering on terms.

"The most prominent of these terms being that we do not hold any of Thrawn's people that are unwilling to be held. Same thing goes for them so that we are equally liable for holding hostages if caught doing it. We are also to never again engage in military combat with the enemy galaxy for forty years, plenty of time for us to regenerate our numbers and kill them off anyway. However, I am confident that that doesn't mean life in our people cannot go on as with them," Czulkang explained.

_Good, he and Tsavong have done well for our people more than Shimrra and his pathetic Court Jester ever would_ Anor thought. He asked himself why he cared about a mere Jester so much but something about that man just disturbed him right now. So close to the ear of the Overlord, Onimi could whisper anything into Shimrra's ear and have it possibly be considered true by him. "These all sound like very fine terms, when do the search parties start their searches for survivors?" he inquired.

"I have already put in the request for search parties to search the rabble for any survivors, hopefully they will begin immediately and we will get lucky. The Arden Lyn girl is just as essential to me as she is to you though I wonder what your reasoning is for her," Czulkang replied. "Don't you remember what I showed you?" Nom asked with a smile. "You can't be serious!" Czulkang exclaimed after a moment to think about it.

"I am: if anyone can heal Quoreal's mind, it's her and possibly her apprentice, I need them both alive at least until then. Perhaps, I can bargain their freedom for it if I decide I want to hold them for longer than I would be allowed but didn't want to violate the treaty. Throw in the assassination or intimidation of Onimi in there for good measure," Nom said, nodding to Czulkang. "But what end would that serve?" Tsavong interrupted.

"You will know in time, should it come down to it, you will know," Nom Anor promised. "I don't like the sound of that, father," Tsavong warned. "Neither do I, my boy, neither do I," Czulkang admitted. "There is one reason why I want her besides the possibility of her power: I have been experimenting with human psychology with some of the slaves Vergere managed to bring me.

"I have been unable to find any conclusive data in any of my experiments but perhaps she can help. After all, I have only experimented with men and I have learned that women tend to be the more emotional ones. Granted, that isn't always the case (there are some men that are so emotional that they're unbelievably annoying) but that is often a general assumption. At least, that's the general conclusion I've had as a result of my experiments and not the overall development of humans," he explained.

"And you wish to know the emotions of human beings, because?" Tsavong inquired. "I think you'll find it very interesting if I took you to see them," Nom replied with a smile that ended the talk.


	5. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

Onimi was deep in thought, as he had been since the war ended, the terms of the truce still sometimes troubling him. Apparently it still troubled Shimrra as well considering the way he paced across the throne room even now that much time had passed since the war ended. "Fifteen times, Nom Anor and Thrawn have made their annual visits and not a single interesting thing has come of it!" he shouted. "Peace is the most interesting thing you can get out of a treaty like this," Onimi replied.

"So I am supposed to be bored for twenty-five more years before I can finally take revenge against the Chiss Ascendancy! How am I supposed to be the prestigious Supreme Overlord when I cannot even destroy my greatest enemy ever?" Shimrra asked. "Sometimes, being the greatest Supreme Overlord does not mean destroying all your enemies. Rather, sometimes, a great Overlord shows respect to an enemy especially when they've managed to defeat him," Onimi answered.

"And you would know about these sorts of things because?" Shimrra asked, suspiciously. "Let's just say that sometimes, the Court Jester is required to know these things in order to entertain the castes. After all, I can't entertain an Intendant if I know only the tricks to entertaining a Warmaster during a trial," Onimi answered. Shimrra sneered and continued to pace around the chambers, wondering what he was supposed to do about Czulkang's rebellions against his reign.

"You are by no means as competent an Overlord as some of your predecessors, perhaps not even as much as your predecessor. At least Quoreal was cautious before going into any battles that might bring us great casualties. Especially when he was tempted to go out to battle in his anger, the emotion blinding his rationale. The first rule of the Warmaster is not to allow emotion to blind you to the truth of an outcome," Czulkang had added.

"And yet you did that when your son was with you in the Main Fleet?" Shimrra had inquired. "In actuality, I was not blinded by emotion when I chose to protect my son: I was actually showing him that there was a place for emotion so long as it doesn't blind you," Czulkang had replied. Shimrra had given up at that point and allowed Czulkang to get away with his pathetic foolishness if he wished. But now, Tsavong was grown up and had his own ship with a crew and soldiers to command.

It was just a matter of time before Tsavong claimed all the power needed to be a Warmaster like his father. When that happened, Shimrra wasn't sure if he could stand two Warmaster Lahs roaming out and about. To be fair though, Onimi wasn't feeling much better about it than his Overlord was either. It was bad enough that Nom Anor still had mysterious interests but the fact the the Lah family were similar was also incredibly annoying to him.

**From the bridge of** his eight-year-old cruiser, Tsavong peered into the Void, amazed that fifteen years had already passed since the war ended. Fifteen years had passed since he had met the mysterious woman Arden Lyn who defeated him in single combat. Yet it had also been fifteen years since he had begun his search for her, finding other survivors in the process though never finding her. Why I haven't given up after all this time, I have no idea he thought to himself as he slowly walked across the ship.

He had a few ideas as to why he hadn't given up yet though: she was the only one to have ever defeated him in single combat. She had impressed him more than any fighter and when he begged her to take his life, she refused and let him go back home instead. Now, she was floating in space somewhere with her apprentice being the only one accompanying her if anyone did. _What is it about what that woman has done for me that intrigues me and anyone that knows the story so much?_ he thought.

Even the suggestions that he had considered and reconsidered again and again these past fifteen years didn't seem to compensate for his lack of understanding or even fill it. Under the guise of a regular search for survivors that might have been preserved by the cold of space, he searched for her alone. And just when it looked like he was finally about to give up after fifteen years, his father and Anor both having moved on to other things since, fortune seemed to smile upon his search. "Sir, we have just found a Chiss-designed escape pod floating in the middle of some debris," a soldier said.

"I presume there's a reason you bothered me about this?" Tsavong asked. "Yes sir, there are two lifeforms in there and both of them have black robes though one has a lightsaber. The other one has a sheathed sword, crescent in shape but it looks just as deadly," the soldier answered. _A crescent blade, that's exactly what Arden Lyn used against me though I'm not sure why the other has a lightsaber_ he thought to himself.

"Prepare for a boarding party, wait until I arrive to lead them and then I'll cut the pod open for extraction. Be careful with carrying them out, they made be frozen and fragile as a result," Tsavong ordered. "I shall order the troops to do that as soon as we arrive and you open the way, milord," the trooper said with a bow. It wasn't long before they were on their way nor long before Tsavong had managed to trap the escape pod in the hull of the ship and cut a door into it with the amphistaff laser.

Walking in, he immediately recognized the woman who clung to the sheathed sword to be Arden Lyn though he didn't know who the other, with the lightsaber, was. He had a funny feeling that he would find out once the ice from the coldness of space melted away and they were revived from sleep. What kind of power was it that kept Arden just as youthful as she had been when they first met? Could it be more of that Force power that apparently, Onimi had as well?

_Whatever this power is, it most certainly is fascinating. No wonder why Nom Anor has an interest in her more than my father does. Forget what he said about understanding human emotion, this is far too interesting to ignore_ Tsavong thought to himself. "Careful you idiots and pick up their weapons too!" he shouted aloud when he noticed the sword and saber fall to the ground.

A minor servant quickly picked up both weapons and carried them as though he was holding jewels in his hand instead. Tsavong smiled, knowing that this scout knew his place fully well, something he was normally proud and acknowledge. However, there was no time for such formalities with the discovery of a lifetime. "Place them in the infirmary and notify me when one or both of them awaken," he demanded before marching off.

He would tell his father and Nom Anor that he had found Arden Lyn after fifteen years of searching. The looks on their faces when he did almost took care of themselves and a smile landed itself on his face. But first, he would make sure they got proper treatment for any wounds or scars they possessed from the battle. Fortunately though, he found none and had a strange feeling that Arden would be the first of them to reawaken.

He wasn't sure why but he felt like the other woman didn't radiate with the same power Arden did. An untrained eye might have blamed it on both of them being in a deep slumber but Tsavong knew better than that. Even in slumber, Arden beared an aura of power and tragedy that though also beared by the other was not nearly as strong in her._ Time will tell whether or not my feelings are wrong, time and her revival shall do the trick_ Tsavong vowed to himself before leaving them in the infirmary.

**Arden felt slight movements,** all of which added to the sensation of being lifted up by familiar hands and arms. _What's happening, Kashi Mer?_ she asked the Talisman. _You've been found dear lady, you and Depa may come out of the Trance now_ the voice in the artifact replied. Arden mentally smiled, glad that someone found them and that they would soon be having no need of the Trance.

_Help me out of the Trance until I'm in a regular sleep and do the same for Depa that way we can both wake up_ she added to the Talisman._ I'm one step ahead of you: I've already done it for you and am proceeding to do the same for your apprentice. She'll be a little longer in the reawakening but it won't be difficult to get her there_ the voice replied. It was then, as if to see if Kashi Mer was telling the truth, that Arden willed herself to reawaken from her slumber.

The first thing she came to realize was that her head ached as though someone had gone up her nose and stuck several lightsabers up there while she was asleep. That was followed by a near blinding pain in her eyes from opening them up and exposing them to the lights surrounding her. Shaking her head to get over it and rubbing her eyes, she managed to see that she was an infirmary of sorts. Turning her head to the left, she noticed Depa still blissfully away in the trance and Arden reached out to her.

Calling her name in a whisper while doing so, Arden was cut short of reaching her apprentice when a door opened and several figures walked through. "Ah there she is, alive and well. You remember me do you not, Arden Lyn?" the leading one asked. It took her a moment since her vision was still hazy but when it cleared, she recognized the Yuuzhan Vong Tsavong Lah addressing her.

"How could I forget a face like that, young man?" she replied, surprised to see him in something a little more glamorous than she remembered. "Excellent and now, if you can, I wish you to stand up and try walking around. You've been out for a very long while and I want to get you on the recuperation path as soon as I possibly can," Tsavong stated. Arden nodded and as she proceeded to obey his request, she asked how long she and Depa had been out floating in space.

"You do not want to be knowing that information yet, it will be revealed to you in good time," he answered. "How long were we out there? I will not ask you a third time," she demanded. Her legs were a little wobbly but other than that, she could walk just fine considering what it could have been.

His hesitant look told her that she and Depa had been out for a while but she demanded a number in order to be satisfied with the answer to her question. "You've been in some kind of trance, floating in that escape pod of yours for fifteen years. The two of you should be thankful that my crew found you at all, a few more days or so and you would have been floating for eternity," he said at last. Then he turned, vowing to fill her in on what happened since her disappearance at a later date, and left her to be alone in the infirmary.

_Fifteen years? We were out in the cold grasp of the Void of the Universe for fifteen years and not a single Chiss emissary found us in that time? It's thanks to Tsavong and the Yuuzhan Vong that we are emerging out of our trances now?_ she asked herself, amazed by this revelation. Actually, she was beginning to wish she had not pushed Tsavong into revealing the secret of the time that passed.

She looked around, noticing that her sword was not in her hand like she last remembered it being but was thankful to find it on a table next to her bed. _Any fool who wanted to make money from Admiral Thrawn would have taken it and kept it for himself while I was asleep_ she thought. Smiling, she reclaimed it, glad to see that the old feeling of wrapping her hand around it was still as good as she remembered. "You are lucky I ordered my men to leave your weapons at your side, a couple soldiers were eyeing your sword and your friend's lightsaber, beautiful weapons both," Tsavong said.

"What's become of you since we met that fateful day where I spared your life when you should have been killed?" she asked. "I've become a Warmaster just like my father and command my own section of the Yuuzhan Vong army. Speaking of which, we have mostly only forces confined to our city though we have a few rebuilt ships from the Main Fleet you destroyed with help," he started calmly. "Wait, what help?" she demanded.

"The Chiss Ascendancy came after you had already destroyed most of our ships and escaped, finishing the job you started in the process," he replied. "So there are no other survivors besides us?" she asked. "A few Chiss here and there during the first searches but none of your Vahla and Sorcerers survived, no," he answered, shaking his head as he said it. "And what of Thrawn?" she requested, her hand clenching her sword since her desire to pay him back for abandoning them renewing.

"He and my father made a truce to never engage in military combat again for forty years, that we were each to search for survivors like yourself, and turn over those who didn't want to stay with us. None of the Chiss wanted to remain with our people so we let them return to theirs and when their officers found some of ours, they were returned to us without question on their consent. We have also allowed our peoples to travel between each other and obtain cultural information upon request. Chiss educators have taken what we've given them and added to the history books as have our teachers," he explained.

_So the Chiss defeated the Yuuzhan Vong and could've easily wiped them out yet they chose to make peace with them instead? Admirable, stupid but admirable_ she thought to herself. Slight moaning turned Arden's attention back to Depa and Tsavong stated that she was beginning to stir at last. "I will see to her awakening but stay here, she will need to be introduced to our rescuer and the sooner that happens, the better," she said.

"Then I shall hold my place until you are ready for me, milady," he replied with a smile. Arden went back over to Depa's bed just in time for her to wake up swinging a hand and shooting flames. "Be at peace apprentice, be at peace, you're safe," Arden said immediately. "What... what happened?" Depa asked.

"Our escape pod was discovered by the Yuuzhan Vong and we're in the care of Warmaster Tsavong Lah," Arden answered. Depa looked like she wanted to destroy the place utterly from the paleness of her face and the exposure of the veins on her forehead. Instead she merely asked, "Are we prisoners?" Arden looked to Tsavong for the answer and he assured both women that they were not hostages that would not be held against their will.

"But let me ask you two this question: why would you want to go back to where there was nothing but betrayal and hatred for the two of you? It's even worse from the news that Thrawn gave us now more than ever," he added. Arden and Depa gave each other a look that exchanged more in less time than words ever could in the time they would take. "If we were to go back, it would be rebel against those who cause the strife and bring freedom to the peoples of the galaxy.

"We would be the heroines that the Jedi never could be even if our means are not the same," Arden answered. "Then you will be needing a place to start with and I think my father and Intendant Nom Anor will be taking over from here. I have already arranged accommodations for your stay here and seen to it that it's within range of my personal headquarters should you need anything of me," he said. "Why are you being so generous to the two of us, beings you consider inferior to your people?" Depa asked.

"I am not like my foolish people: I respect those who defeat me and adapt my philosophies accordingly. That is what your Mistress taught me to do when we met in combat fifteen years ago on Irkalla and she gave me my life instead of killing me," Tsavong answered before introducing himself. "You fought him, Mistress?" Depa asked. "I will not deny that we met in combat, he crash landed on Irkalla during one of the engagements between forces and Thrawn wanted me to bring him alive," Arden began.

"Instead of taking me to Admiral Thrawn, she told me to go back into the gunship and leave the planet before the blockade closed again. I obeyed though I wondered why she chose to give me that chance rather than capture me for Thrawn," Tsavong interrupted. "The reason I told you to leave was because I found it dishonorable that Thrawn would want to capture someone like you. In the time that I come from, capture was the greatest offense that a soldier could allow himself to have happen, after all," Arden added.

"That is something you can tell me about another time but unfortunately, I have to turn you over to Intendant Anor as soon as you're fit to travel. You do have the strength to stand for travel, do you not?" Tsavong inquired. Both women nodded and told him that they were ready whenever he was ready. "I shall order for a ship to take you both to Shimrra's city where you will meet my father in the hangar bay, he's returned from a board meeting with the Chiss and has agreed to meet you," he said.

And just like that, Tsavong was gone again though Arden had a feeling it wouldn't be the last time she saw him. The respect he had for her abilities as a fighter and as a person were proof of that being the case. However, she wondered what she could consider her new goal in life besides justice in the galaxy that saw her birth. Was there truly something she could do here or was Tsavong saying this out of respect for her... only time would tell which was the truth.

**When Intendant Anor heard** the news that Tsavong had found two women in black, he knew immediately that at least one of them had to be Arden Lyn. _No women, regardless of the species, walks around dressed from head to toe in black except in mourning or cultural obedience. And I highly doubt that it was either one of those if these women are all the way out here_ he thought. "When will the women be arriving?" he asked one of his scouts who happened to be with Tsavong.

"He should have them along within a few hours or so, they'll be meeting the senior Warmaster Lah in the hangar before being directed to their quarters by him. Once there, they will take an audience with any noble in our circle and the only other one besides Czulkang and Tsavong is you," the source answered. "Good, inform Czulkang that I will be visiting the women three hours after they arrive so as to give them time to settle in first," Nom ordered.

The scout bowed and left to obey his orders, the speed pleasing him as he normally didn't have it on his side. Shimrra and Onimi were especially guilty of keeping him waiting when he had business elsewhere, weighing down his mood by the time he finally had an audience with them. However, this day was good for he was not on his way to have an audience with them. He would be meeting Arden Lyn at long last and he would be on his way to persuading her to help him with Quoreal from there.

But it wasn't too long before he was met with resistance from the Fosh captive Vergere. "What are you doing here, foolish woman?" Nom asked. "I came to you with both a warning and a threat: do not seek out the powers of these two women in black robes! Only your doom awaits you at the end of the journey you start by doing this," she answered. "You waste my time woman, I have always won whether in the immediate future or the distant, I do not fear these two," he replied.

"You're a damned fool if you don't fear the power they can wield as individuals, never mind as a team," Vergere snapped. "I assure you Vergere that the fear will be absolutely unnecessary and even replaced by reverence for their power. That will keep their egos fed and their powers under my line more than fear and my knowledge of the surroundings would combined," he calmly countered. "These are not the sort of people you can control, not forever," she begged, desperate for him to see her side.

"I will not order you to move out of the way twice, be ready to hold the apprentice hostage when I find out who she is and lure her to you. It does not matter to me how you do it, just do it until I have persuaded Arden Lyn to complete the task I will request of her. Blackmailing has always been the most effective way to persuade anyone to do my bidding and with her, I doubt a change," he ordered. "This time, you've gone too far and you've pushed your bounds with me!" she hissed.


	6. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six**

When Arden and Depa arrived to the hangar bay of the city, whose name translated to 'Glory of Shimrra', she was immediately impressed by its resemblance to a living creature. In fact, she was baffled when Depa stated that their technology was biomechanical in nature. "It's advanced like what we know but everything lives and breaths from this city to the smallest military craft," she added. "How in the universe is this strange technology possible?" Arden asked.

"It's very rare in our galaxy due to the flaws associated with it but it seems as though the Yuuzhan Vong have perfected the art. I too am confused by how they did it but perhaps that is something Warmaster Czulkang will explain," Depa answered. They were greeted almost immediately after disembarking from their ship by the Warmaster himself and a procession of troops flanking them. _So much trouble for just two women who were only a couple of the survivors from a fifteen-year-old battle... hardly impressive_ Depa thought to herself.

A gesture from Arden told her to come down from the ship and follow in line with her as she was joined by Czulkang. "It is an honor to meet the father of Tsavong Lah at long last, I have heard quite a bit about you," Arden said, flattering him to get them on a good note. "Please dispense with those silly formalities, Lady Arden, I am nothing like my naive son. He is new in the field of being a Warmaster, I have had centuries to accumulate experience that shows on my armor and my face," he said.

"Yes, I can tell that you have seen many battles but do tell us how you mastered the art of biomechanical technology. We are very curious to learn more about the Yuuzhan Vong culture than the small amount we already know about them," she replied, overlooking his comment about formalities. "Even before we became the warrior race that you see today, our people always had a good connection with the animals and the environment surrounding us. So much so that we were able to harness the deadlier powers of our creatures with naught but our minds before very long.

"Occasionally, some species did resist but we eventually broke them into our pets and they have served us well ever since. I think you will find, with time, that the biomechanical technology that we can use has many advantages over what you have in your galaxy. Even if yours was more capable of overcoming us in battle, I highly praise our people's advance in single combat," Czulkang explained. Will I really have to stand around and listen to this old war hero babble all day? Depa asked silently.

"Interesting, it almost reminds me of the power I wield called the Force, my apprentice uses it as well," Arden stated. "I have heard of this power before: Nom Anor has expressed an interest in it and Vergere claims that she and Court Jester Onimi both wield it," Czulkang said. Hmmm, so Vergere is here but this Onimi person. Interesting that a species outside of the Force should have a Force-sensitive individual within it Depa observed mentally.

A nod and a wink from her Mistress proved to her that she had also observed this and was storing it for future planning. "What do any of them profess to know about it?" Arden inquired aloud. "Onimi believes that it allows him his influence in the Court, something Nom Anor has reason to suspect, and has intrigued his interests in human emotions along with their abilities to use them in their powers. Vergere on the other hand... she believes that Onimi uses his powers to take control of our Supreme Overlord and that Nom Anor is looking at the wrong experimental specimens," Czulkang explained.

"What do you believe?" Depa asked. Czulkang paused for thought despite continuing with his march towards the headquarters where the women would be making their residence. Apparently, the question trumped him more than Arden Lyn and even Czulkang himself had anticipated happening. Then he spoke and when he did, both women were surprised by the answer that he gave to them.

"I believe that the Force is real, having seen the Ember of Vahla and the Sorcerers of Tund use it against my troops. However, I do not have enough evidence to believe that Onimi is anything more than a cunning Court Jester who just so happened to be lucky to find a weak-minded Overlord. Nonetheless, I actually do agree with Vergere that Nom Anor is looking at the wrong specimens for his experimentations concerning the Force and how people in your galaxy use it," he answered. "If I am not mistaken, your people consider all others to be inferior to you," Arden said.

"You're not but may I ask why that's relevant to our conversation?" Czulkang requested. "Because if you believe Vergere to be part of an inferior species, how is it that you believe what she says about Nom Anor and his experiments?" Arden countered. Chuckling, Czulkang stated that he didn't entirely agree with his people about the belief of Yuuzhan Vong superiority over all others. "Because if that were so, we would not have been defeated by the Chiss in the war, fifteen years ago," he added.

"So do you believe her or do you not?" Depa demanded. "I believe her yes but only to the extent that she is right about Anor being unwise in his experimentation of humans. That is where our common ground ends and the disagreement begins: I don't believe Onimi to be the best specimen here. Had better creatures been available, I would have chosen them so maybe he is the best for now though I disagree that he is good for any kind of scientific experimentation that the Intendant could do," he said.

"What has Nom Anor concluded in his experimentations so far that would compel you to believe that?" Arden asked. "Truthfully, it's mostly a bunch of nonsense based on a bunch of slaves we captured early in the war when the truce did not apply. He believes humans to be weak though human males are the stronger of the two if he had to pick between them. His beliefs about the women are that human women are only good for reproduction and caring for the house as our women mostly are.

"You two are living and breathing proof to the contrary being the case even if men are indeed, physically more powerful for the most part," Czulkang answered. "I will admit that the greater majority of women are idiots who do not know when to shut up about their troubles. But those very same weaknesses can also apply to men and sometimes, to an even greater extreme than women," Depa said. So not much has changed on the view of women from my time at all.. can't say I'm anything other than disappointed Arden thought but didn't say.

"Misogyny has a way of remaining strong in almost all species, no matter where you go. In some instances, it is true of a species though it is a very stupid idea overall. Humans are an example of where it doesn't apply even if yours is not," she said aloud. "My thoughts exactly on that matter," Czulkang admitted.

"So it does apply to your species?" Arden inquired. "Aside from the Shifters and a couple of other classes in our caste system, yes," Czulkang replied. "But there are matriarchies in the universe where women are dominant and the men are submissive," Depa suggested. "Few and far between those are but you do have a point: they are another loophole in Intendant Anor's pathetic rule," Czulkang said.

"It would seem as though you collaborate with this Nom Anor despite your disagreements with him," Arden said. He's far too passive to be an enemy of this Intendant character although fierce enough to have encountered him on the political level on at least one occasion Arden thought. Depa was having similar thoughts to her Mistress and when Czulkang answered them, their suspicions were confirmed. "I will admit that I do work with him on the sidelines but he is far from a friend, he is more like an ally to me and a useful one at that to some degree," he confessed.

"What would be his interest in us if he is merely a 'useful ally' to you?" Depa asked. "Merely a business one, I hope: he keeps more of his intentions behind shadows than he reveals," he answered. Arden and her apprentice had the feeling that Czulkang was somehow lying, that he knew more than he was telling, but they decided not to bother him about that. "How long before we arrive at our place of residence?" Depa continued.

"We are but a few minutes off now, Nom Anor will visit the two of you in another three hours which should give you plenty of time to settle into your new place. That is enough time for you to adjust, is it not?" Czulkang asked. "Yes, that should be sufficient for our needs though I had not expected for him to desire to meet us so soon," Arden answered. I also wonder why Nom Anor is so interested in us as to desire a visit only three hours after we arrive to his domain Depa thought but didn't say.

"And here we are," Czulkang announced, waving a hand to a relatively simple-looking cottage house or else as close to a cottage as the Yuuzhan Vong were going to get. Interesting place to stay considering the biotechnology of the these people but I suppose it's nice Arden thought silently. "My son will be nearby whenever he is not on business affairs should you need anything. I will also have a residence not too far away should my son be unavailable for your assistance as well," he added.

"Thank you Czulkang, you and your son have both been too kind to us," Arden said aloud. "I think you will find that every kindness you can get must be taken with gratitude. Our people are not used to kindness to infidel races like the three of us are," Czulkang warned. "We shall keep that in mind for future reference, Warmaster and thank you," Depa stated.

With a bow, Czulkang thanked them both and left them to settle into their new headquarters knowing full well that Nom Anor was on his way. "What do you think of this Intendant Nom Anor from what Czulkang says?" Depa asked her Mistress. Arden looked up at her, the surprise from the question showing on her face though she probably should've expected this. "That we need to be careful when we speak to or do anything with him while we're here even if he is indeed our ally," she answered.

**"Take her to the** Citadel and implant her with the Insanity, the rest will be history from there," Nom Anor ordered his troops. Having seen to Vergere being knocked unconscious and susceptible, he wanted her ready for the next stage of his plan to have Arden help him revive Quoreal. He was going to blackmail her with the threat of her apprentice being killed in exchange for service. The Insanity would keep Vergere alive long enough for him to complete the ceremony before he could play hero with them.

_If what I have learned about humans is correct, Arden and her apprentice should have an attachment that makes them protective of each other. Once I exploit that attachment for my purposes, the rest should be as easy as cutting up worms for food_ he thought enthusiastically. Smiling, he made his way to their headquarters where the Warmaster Lahs had given the women residence with the intent to complete his plot no matter what the consequences of it. Quoreal would be revived and would lead a revolution that would shatter the fundamentals of the people to the core.

If all went to plan, it would even reduce the population of the Yuuzhan Vong so much that they would only be ready for conquest at the end of the forty years of peace. Plenty of time for him to complete his ultimate plan for domination of the universe as he saw it. Peace and prosperity for his people would be gained and he would be remembered as the ultimate messiah of his race. By the gods, it would be beautiful, the world he established for his people to rule for the next millennia or so.

"Would you like her to remain at the top of the Citadel tower so that it's easy to locate her in emergency, milord?" one of his soldiers asked. "Yes do that, I will inform Arden's apprentice that she will need rescuing there so as to lure her into the trap. As I recall, Vergere left behind people that missed her for the longest time after her disappearance," he whispered back, nodding. He was hoping that the apprentice had been one of those people and would be immediately answer the call for aid.

His men dispersed to obey his orders and just when he knew that they were gone, he knocked on the door to the cottage. "This is Intendant Nom Anor, I request an audience with the residents of this place," he said, addressing himself so they knew exactly who it was. It wasn't long before he was answered and the woman introduced herself as Depa Billaba, apprentice to Arden Lyn. _Perfect, this is the woman I need for my blackmailing scheme to work against her Mistress_ he thought to himself.

"May I meet your Mistress, miss Billaba?" he asked politely. "She's been expecting you as have I," Depa answered before letting him in. Immediately, he saw the woman that called herself Arden Lyn and stated that it was a pleasure to meet her. "And it is good to meet one of our famous allies, Czulkang Lah talks quite a bit about you," she replied.

"Does he now? I'm surprised that he would find me in such high graces as to speak about me to you," he said. Indeed he was genuinely surprised but he didn't let this show too much except to satisfy the human women. "You would be surprised as to what Czulkang thinks of you but I think that should be saved for another time, I have information that I need from you," Arden replied. "And I have information that may intrigue your apprentice: the Fosh Vergere is trapped on top of the Citadel," Nom stated.

"Where is that?" Depa inquired. "Northwest of here exactly, she's on the top of its largest spiral tower. You did hope to rescue her before you both left this place, did you not?" Nom explained. She nodded in admission and requested to her Mistress that she be allowed to go on this mission.

"Go but be careful, we don't know whether this information is correct or not just based on what he says," Arden warned. Depa nodded, collected her lightsaber, and left to fulfill the task that Nom Anor had offered her with the rescue of Vergere. "Why did you direct that at my apprentice and not to me?" Arden asked. "Because unlike you, Vergere and your apprentice were both Jedi at one time or another," Nom Anor answered.

"I am a fallen Jedi too, you know," Arden stated. "I suppose that's true but you are the one with the power I want more than your apprentice. You see, for nearly twenty years, I have been aiming to do what my people profess to be impossible: I intend to bring back the dead," he began. "You're the all-knowing Intendant of your people, you don't need an Infidel like me," she interrupted.

_This one will be harder to persuade than I thought she would be but no matter, I love a good challenge every now and then_ he thought silently. "That is where you are wrong: even with my current advances in biotechnological medicine, I could never revive this man. I need you to help me heal him with some of your Force power, restoring his mind and bringing him fully to life if possible," he said. _This sounds similar to what I did for Depa when she was in a coma and what happened to me after I had been hibernating for twenty-five millenniums, shouldn't be hard_ she said to herself.

"Allow me time to meditate on the matter and think about it, I've barely been out of a ten-year hibernation for half a day and this is a lot to take in. I will return to you with a reply in an hour and I suggest you let me have that time for your sake more than mine," she said aloud. She wasn't saying this to ditch him, she genuinely needed the time to decide whether or not to help this slippery man out. "However, I would like a little bit of information: who is it that you intend to have me resurrect?" she continued.

"The former Supreme Overlord of my people, none other than the mighty and wise Quoreal himself. His successor has become a tyrant and wishes to violate the treaty, thus I intend to restore his predecessor," Nom answered. Arden nodded and chose to first consult the Talisman before deciding her next move. Amongst all the people and things she was trust, she was to beginning to wonder if this artifact of her husband's day would be the best.

_You are right to mistrust this man but be aware that he holds the key to you being able to return home. If you complete this task and whatever else he asks of you, you could return to the galaxy and have your revenge against Thrawn_ the Talisman told her._ I don't desire to kill Thrawn at this point but I could use an explanation as to what he did and how I can adapt to it_ she said. _Then, I'm afraid you're going to have to do as Nom Anor says until he no longer has an interest in you, besides that I sense your apprentice will soon be in dange_r the voice replied.

Arden didn't even bother to ask what it was talking about, figuring that that would be revealed soon enough and decided to chew on the information for a little bit. "Nom Anor, what happens if I don't cooperate with you? I want the truth and I want it no matter how I have to get it out of you," she asked. She hoped the warning was enough to impress him and it seemed as though it was indeed enough to impress him more easily than she had expected.

"If you do not cooperate, I will bear no hard feelings but I can't guarantee that your apprentice will survive the Citadel even if she manages to find Vergere. Either way, you lose something whether it's your apprentice or a little bit of your power," he answered calmly. "Then I guess you have yourself one blackmailed Sorceress of the Dark Side at your bidding," she told him defeatedly. "Oh don't think of it as blackmail, think of it as the lesser of two evils," he replied, probably hoping to curb her anger.

Despite the attempt and the intent behind it, it mounted her anger toward him if it did anything at all._ I knew we shouldn't trust this man when we're around him or accomplices under his wing_ she told herself mentally._ Do not feel bad about having fallen into his trap, even I could not have anticipated this and there is almost nothing I don't see_ Kashi Mer interjected. _Too late to fix your mistake now but hopefully, there will be time to remedy this mess cleanly_ Arden told it.

"Why are you interested in this Quoreal character? What makes him so heroic compared to the current Supreme Overlord?" she asked aloud. "The answer to that is easy but it will require time to explain," he answered. "Take all the time you need, it's not like we're going to be able to teleport to your place, is it?" she retorted.

"Your attitude is astoundingly mature even in the face of dire peril to someone attached to you," he stated as he chuckled. "I have lost people that have become dear to me before and to such a point where the grief has numbed and hardened my heart somewhat. It's not that I don't feel anything for Depa, it's just that it might be harder for me to grieve for her than it was for the man I loved," she said. "Oh do tell me more about this!" he exclaimed like a happy little child.

"First spill the beans on Quoreal and then I may tell you about the loss of my beloved, not a moment before!" she hissed. "That isn't beyond my power of patience and reasoning, I shall obey your request," he replied. Good and if anything does happen to my apprentice, I don't need my sword to kill you she thought angrily. He was going to pay one way or the other for this insolence towards her and her apprentice, that she would see to personally.

"Quoreal was a staunch traditionalist and one of the most respectable Supreme Overlords in the history of our people. His dedication to the religious side of our people as well as peaceful relations with those who were stronger than us was beyond exquisite. He was so obsessed with the usage of cunning and strategy to defeat an enemy that it was amazing that Shimrra managed to defeat him at all. Plus, unlike Shimrra, he was independent of his subjects and could act with or without their consent," he began.

"Let me guess, this Onimi character controls Shimrra like a puppet and you want to reinstate a man who's stronger of mind," she stated, having already deduced the significance of this in her mind. "Yes, yes I do and the Lah family shares my pain, fortunately," he admitted.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

_I wonder why Vergere is trapped at the top of the Citadel and not somewhere a little less obvious. Perhaps it was a trap and my Mistress was reluctant to let me go because of that_ Depa thought to herself. Arden Lyn might have been relatively innocent compared to her but she saw and anticipated many things that Depa herself couldn't see. It was possible that she had seen the obviousness of Vergere's place of captivity as a trap that should be avoided.

But what could Depa do now except move on to see if she could help the poor old woman? She had been here since before the battle of Naboo and who knows what the Yuuzhan Vong might have done to her during that time? However, as she approached the immense Citadel, she wasn't as horrified by it as she thought it would be upon gazing. True, the biomechanical technology still threw her off (some of the walls opened and folded back to the corners by themselves) but it wasn't very scary.

However, it was when she saw the tortured prisoners of the Citadel that she began to shudder in shock. Some of the prisoners were twisted into unrecognizable collections of twigs with skin and blood that slowly oozed its way out where many bone shards had pierced through. The eyes of some of these prisoners also bulged out beyond what was normal and the tears shed were tears of blood too. Some were virtually crucified as they were slowly mangled alive by contraptions that likely explained the abnormal shapes of the others.

"I've done no wrong, by the gods, someone hear my cries!" a female prisoner begged. "The gods don't care about Shamed Ones here, forget about begging them for help here," a male replied. Shamed Ones... the Yuuzhan Vong run on a caste system and that sounds like the lowest caste there is. I'll have to remember that in case it becomes useful to us later Depa told herself.

Guards initially opposed her but when she used Pyrokinesis, Lightning, and even Kinetite, they didn't stop her from completing her journey. When she arrived to the tower, she saw how the torchbearers looked very much like teeth and the surrounding area like gums. Shaking her head, she continued to ascend the stairs despite being grossed out by the transformations that the walls took. Sometimes, she even wondered if the trap was not Vergere but rather, the biology of the Citadel that she walked inside of right now.

However, when a door suddenly opened in much the same fashion as a mouth, she knew she was out safely and would be soon arriving at the top of the spire. She looked back down to see that she had covered more than three miles of tower and base of the great Citadel._ All that work and so much distance covered... the liveliness of the inside of the damned place made it seem like longer_ she thought.

But maybe that was the magic of the Citadel: it played tricks on the minds of those who would break a prisoner or group of prisoners out of its guarded horde. _There's no way that these deformed prisoners are the only valuable thing that this place protects, it's too big for that_ she told herself. She was nearing the top of the spire and she could sense Vergere's presence in the Force, a good sign of Nom Anor telling the truth. However, she also sensed an aura of the Dark Side about this woman; Depa knew she needed to be careful about her approach.

**"I hold nothing personal** against you Arden Lyn, I have always gotten my way either through extortion or polite persuasion," Nom said. "Dispense with the apology formalities, I have no use for them," Arden snapped. "You say that as though you believe yourself already dead," he stated. "In some ways, I should be dead: I was born more than twenty-five thousand years ago," she admitted.

"Then how are you still here with us? The typical human lifespan is not even more than a century if I am mistaken," he asked. "When I was twenty-six years old, I was placed into a trance by Jedi Master Pina which saw me staying in a dormant state until fifteen years ago," she answered. "How is that possible?" she inquired.

"The power of the Force can do amazing things when one is susceptible to most of its effects which are telepathically and telekinetically related. You and your people have a special immunity to those sorts of powers and we are limited to energy-based attacks against you. However, that doesn't stop anyone of your people who has the Force from doing terrible things, I imagine," she explained. "Terrible like what, for instance?" he asked, his curiosity slowly etching into his voice.

He needed to know what she could offer in case it had anything to do with Onimi's closeness to Shimrra, he needed to know how he could counter it for his own gain when needed. "Some applications of the Force include a Voice ability that allows the wielder to control whoever they speak to with the it. It was an uncommon application in my day but I wouldn't be surprised if its popularity has soared since," she answered nonchalantly. _Onimi could be using this Voice she speaks of to control Shimrra and make him do his will_ Nom observed.

Smiling, he asked her what other applications Onimi could use as a Yuuzhan Vong with a connection to his own people. "Depends on what the strength of his connection is: the stronger it is, the more he can do. If strong enough, he can teleport from one place to another so long as he can look at it or he could use the Force to accelerate his Speed so greatly as to cover vast distances," she said. Most impressive, maybe that's why Onimi was used as a messenger in his early days he thought silently.

"How come you do not teleport or use the Force to enhance your Speed?" he inquired aloud. "Because a wise warrior reserves those sorts of powers only for emergencies such as an escape or there is no other way to overcome an enemy," she replied, her anger somewhat showing. "Yet you are not just a warrior: you can also heal damaged minds and bodies, as I recall you saying," he stated. "Your memory serves you well, yes I can do all that as well though I must admit I have had a little help with that in the past," she said before revealing a prism of glass.

"What is it?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "The Kashi Mer Talisman, probably the only artifact that can that has all the powers of a god. If there is anything that this thing can't do, I haven't found it out yet," she answered. The powers of a god could be in my grasp with this thing, I could destroy Onimi and Shimrra, taking the title of Supreme Overlord away he thought excitedly.

"May I hold it?" he inquired. "Absolutely not: mortal hands wouldn't survive its power for a second," she hissed. _She says this merely to intimidate you young man: I spare those I wish to spare for usage of my power_ Nom heard a voice say. _How is it possible for a little piece of glass to be speaking to me?_ he asked mentally.

_As Arden said I can do many things and telepathically speaking to all species, regardless of their connection to the Force, is amongst them. I am, after all, the creation of probably the only being anyone could call a god in the physical universe_ the Talisman replied. Nom smiled just slightly enough for Arden to not see and great enough to express his enjoyment at this revelation. He knew he couldn't make a move to grab the artifact now but he would work on that slowly.

He would build up her trust and even add his possession of the Talisman as another bargaining chip for Arden's return home. The wheels in his mind turned in ponderance as to what he could do with the powers of a god in this prism-shaped, glassy artifact. Once Onimi was out of the way, he would persuade her to let him have it as a final token for her passageway home. If all went well, she would be so broken and saddened that she would more than willingly hand it over to him.

"How much longer before we arrive at your headquarters to begin your little rescue?" she demanded. "Oh, not much longer, it's three turns that add up to half a standard mile of distance that reveals a small palace. Granted it isn't as splendid as the Citadel or even Shimrra's Palace but I think you will like it," he answered. When they arrived, Arden did have to admit that she liked his palace but she didn't really care for it at that moment.

"And here we are," he stated with excitement visibly mounting in him. "Just show me to where Quoreal lies and I will begin my ceremony," she commanded. She keeps her hardened edge even in the face of fulfilling the task that her extortion has commanded of her. Indeed, she would make for an effective leader in any time due to her containment of her inner impulses he thought.

"Due to the need for secrecy, I have brought his body to a laboratory underground but not very far since my house camouflages the entrance rather well. I think you will find the laboratory just as interesting as my palace and the inside of it," he continued. "And why should I?" she demanded. "Because it has a mind of its own even if it's under my control and no one else's," he replied, smugly.

**Czulkang felt bad about** leaving Arden and Depa alone with Nom Anor even if he was his ally. True that Nom held political power that Czulkang could never hope to have and was useful in that arena. But he was slipperier than a wet amphistaff on a rainy day and there was no telling what he would persuade the women to do for him. Indeed, he couldn't have sexual relations with either of them, Intendants are castrated at adolescence once they have united with a wife unless emergencies came up.

Because of how seldom those came up and Nom Anor's perfect health record, Czulkang very highly doubted that he avoided castration. However, it was just something about the way he often experimented with other people was a way that had yet to backfire on him. His method was to slowly gain the trust of whoever he wanted to use until he could persuade them to do anything. True that he might occasionally need to extort them at the start but that was very occasional in his data.

Czulkang knew this was dangerous due to having employed similar methods in his youth and finding them to be wrong seldomly. Tsavong also employed these methods but he did this only when he truly had to, preferring to win his battles through honest work and fair fights. Admittedly, Czulkang could see that Tsavong's methods were also effective but proved more rewarding than his own. Why they did was probably because of the virtue behind them than his current methods, something inspiring.

For Czulkang had once used methods much like Tsavong's and even praised him accordingly. However, politics forced him with no choice but to turn away from those methods and he knew that Tsavong would eventually understand why. Hopefully, he wouldn't turn from his current methods but Czulkang did wish that his son would see why before the end of his days. It was one of the greatest tests a Warmaster had to face and the sooner Tsavong overcame it, the better off he would be.

It would not only be good for giving him the complete mastery of the ability to disconnect from his emotions during battle unless he had a child of his own with him. Much as Czulkang had stupidly done with Tsavong at the final battle of the war, fifteen years ago, a mistake that the Council pointed out. As a result, his esteem went down a lot but not unrecoverably so: he worked back into his prestige with his reputation and his hard work in the post-war efforts. The same could not be said of Nom Anor's reputation which only seemed to spiral downwards as time passed and the effects of the war wore out.

Soon, Czulkang and Tsavong would have to cut off ties with Nom Anor in order to save their own honor and their lives. Associating with him would become a thing of the past, a condemnable act that only invited death and destruction. How long Czulkang had before that happened remained to be seen but he had a feeling that it would be soon. Those girls had accelerated events with their presence whether they knew it or not though he could easily guess the latter choice.

**When Depa finally arrived** to the top of the Citadel's largest spiral, she had to admit that she was initially disappointed to see only the Fosh woman chained to a pole. Judging by the slump, unlively position her head took she had been knocked unconscious by something though she didn't know what. No doubt Nom Anor had something to do with this even if he wasn't the one that ordered them to happen to her. _Such a pity that a member of the Jedi almost as old as I am has been here for most of her time and not back on Coruscant_ Depa thought to herself as she examined Vergere.

Depa observed a traditionally-designed lightsaber at her belt and she wondered why the woman wasn't disarmed when she was brought here. She also felt a saberstaff in Vergere's right sleeve, likely a concealed weapon, but the fact that she had these weapons was confusing. Did her captors have so much confidence in her docility that they afforded her the weapons without fear of reprise? Freeing her from her chains, she watched her fall down and did nothing to catch her as she pondered what to do.

Just then, the "false sky" she had observed earlier passed over her head and began to release moisture in a manner that simulated rain. Reminding herself that the Yuuzhan Vong were physiologically adapted for tropical worlds, according to Thrawn, this rain became no surprise. This observation would definitely be good to bring up to his attention if we ever meet him again she told herself. As she continued to think about what she should do, the rain not helping, Vergere awakened.

"You, what are you doing here!?" she demanded. "My name is Depa Billaba, fallen member of the Jedi Order and apprentice to the great Arden Lyn," Depa replied calmly. "Depa Billaba... yes I remember the name: you are considered one of the wisest minds of the Jedi or at least you were," Vergere said. "So we do know each other from within the Jedi Order?" Depa asked.

"Thracia Cho Leem was my Master and as I recall, she was one of Master Windu's true friends. If my memory serves me additionally right, you were Master Windu's Padawans and we served missions together," Vergere answered. The fact that Depa had completely overlooked the name of Vergere's Master proved that the Dark Side had clouded many things in her mind. But of all the things she could've allowed herself to be clouded in, she would have never thought of this one.

After all, Thracia was one of the few people to make Mace smile with just the words she said if she wanted to. Things like that had a profound impact on the shaping of Depa's personality during her time in the Order and Thracia had almost been like a mother and Vergere a sister. "Remember me now!?" Vergere demanded. "I do yes and it sends a white-hot dagger into my heart to see you here in such shape as you are," Depa admitted.

"Do not mock me now Sister, I pray. The Yuuzhan Vong have enlightened me to the wisdoms of the galaxy far beyond the struggles of the Jedi and the Sith! Your so-called wise mind would never comprehend what I have seen and what I have been asked to do for these people," Vergere hissed. "Do not hold me in such spite for failures that were not mine, I beg you. Your Master tried to find you and even had Master Kenobi journey with his Padawan to find you after you disappeared," Depa said.

There was no lie there: Thracia had become so attached with Vergere as a result of having seen her hatching that she had begged the Council to send a search party after she disappeared. Even when they went to Zonama Sekot, where Vergere was last seen, they found nothing and the search ended. "Let me guess, they found enough to consider me lost just as Nom Anor anticipated!" Vergere snapped. Depa nodded but had internally noted Nom Anor's hand in this, wondering if he was her captor and this was just a ploy to manipulate her Mistress through their attachment.

"I don't want to kill you Vergere, in fact, my Mistress and I hoped to rescue you. So please, if you come with me now, I am sure that we can arrange for you to return home with us," she said aloud. "You don't understand Depa: I am home!" Vergere shouted. "Sister, don't make me destroy you: I can if you make it necessary," Depa warned, reserved but sadness swelling in her heart.

"The choice has already been made and the price of my Master's life has already been paid," Vergere said as she indicated the lightsaber at her belt. Depa sighed, knowing there was nothing left but the dangers of a battle with her old avian friend much as she hated it. "Then you leave me no choice, Vergere: either I can free you from the insanity that grips you or I have to kill you," she said. "I hope it's the latter choice rather than the former," Vergere replied with a wicked smile before calling her saberstaff to her and beginning the duel.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight**

"As you can see by the design of it, the laboratory has yet to be completed but not to worry: I have years before I need to worry about cramming everything in. You see, I have the best laboratory in the city which is also one of the best on Zonama Sekot," Nom explained. "And how is it the best one of the best on the planet if this is a floating city?" Arden asked. "This city has the ability to land on the planet and appear to be like any other place on any other planet," Nom answered.

"I see but don't the people of Zonama pay any heed to your landing, at all?" she inquired. "Yes but they are aware of the fact that their technological advances in weapons are not sufficient to beat us. They left that up to the Chiss instead which turned out for the better considering that they did indeed beat us but now, they mind us even less than they did before. As a result, we are allowed to land the city on the living planet so long as we do not bother the people in an aggressive manner," he explained.

"I suppose this city is made similar to what Zonama is, no doubt?" she asked. "What do you mean by that?" he replied. "Is Zonama also made of biotechnology and the people there, the end results of that?" she said, clarifying the question. "Oh yes, very much so: this city is actually supposed to be a smaller replication of Zonama Sekot though it does not live and breath like it does," he said. "Live... and breath?" she demanded.

"The planet has an intelligence all of its own, much as our former homeworld did fifteen thousand years before. In fact, it has often been said that our homeworld's intelligence was the one that stripped the Yuuzhan Vong of their connection to the Force. If what Vergere had said about Onimi having a connection is true, he will be the first one in all that time to realign us with the Force," he stated._ Perhaps that explains why he wants to purge Onimi from the scene: his connection to the Force is a threat to all he desires to do_ Arden thought to herself.

"What's a way that I could try and detect Onimi from a distance, seeing as I'm attuned to the Force and the Yuuzhan Vong are disconnected from it?" she asked aloud. "Simple enough: you would need to learn Vongsense which is equivalent to your telepathy for us," he answered. "And how do I do that?" she requested. "I have never discovered the process for myself but my guess would be connecting with a part of our technology such as an amphistaff," he admitted.

"And what if the genetic ability to connect comes naturally to a person, regardless of the species?" she asked. This stumped Nom Anor, who apparently knew that the possibility of a natural connection did exist even if it was very rare. "Then it would be just a matter of awakening it somehow," he answered at last. "How has it usually been done?" she inquired.

"That's the thing: it's never been attempted at all," he confessed. "Then I guess after Quoreal has been awakened, we can see if I have a natural one or not," she suggested. "I suppose it wouldn't harm to try," he said with a shrug. _I wouldn't risk it until we have an idea of what it had done to others to try if I were yo_u the voice of the Talisman said to her mind from within its containment.

_That will be something to ask him, judging by the tone of his reply to my suggestion_ she countered. The Talisman went silent after that and perhaps it was for the better that it didn't speak to him again. "Where is this Quoreal figure?" she demanded. "I have him in a tank over here though he will be removed and placed on an altar for your purposes," he replied.

He revealed a tank containing a man with limbs she knew to be artificial due to the fact that they were brown and more reptilian than the rest of his body. As promised, Nom removed Quoreal from the tank of suspended animation and placed him on an altar next to the original location. Withdrawing the Talisman from her pouch, Arden used its bright light to examine what had been done so far. She was glad to see that the majority of the restoration process had already been finished for her and the artifact.

_What can you do in the way of actually restoring the flesh and bone of a person's limbs?_ she asked the Talisman._ I can restore the original cell by cell in mere minutes_ it answered her._ Then that shall be part of our restoration of the former Supreme Overlord_ she replied. "What do you want me to do about restoring his face and eyes?" she asked Nom Anor aloud.

"Leave them, he'll want a reminder of what he survived after he is revived by your magic powers," Nom answered. Arden nodded and chose to begin the process in a similar manner to what she had done with Depa Billaba to get her out of the coma. Reciting the spell she had used before, she was pleased to know that she could enter Quoreal's mind in the same fashion and pull out the darkness. Seeing nothing but memories surfacing from within, she took the original darkness and used it to stain his skin until it became the armor he would wear into combat.

The Talisman hovered above, wrapping the former corpse in green coils that protected the non-artificial parts of Quoreal while slowly burning up the others. It was at this point that Arden took to simply aiding the Talisman whilst keeping Quoreal unconscious so as to lessen his pain. The ceremony wouldn't be sensationless on his end but she wanted to make it less painful if and when possible. This was confirmed when she could hear him scream in agony as the Talisman burnt off the artificial limbs.

In their place, the original limbs Quoreal once had steamed to signify their renewal even down to the smallest claws. Arden completed the restoration by using the last of the darkness from his death to complete the leg armor that Quoreal would need in order to be less naked. Finally, when the Talisman had finished its work and Arden had completed the clothes that he would be wearing, she laid him back down. Then, with a single finger, she touched his forehead and told him to reawaken which he seemed to obey immediately.

Nom Anor, having watched in awe and fear of her power the whole time, walked slowly up to the former Supreme Overlord as he awoke and called to him softly. Quoreal responded by turning his head in Nom's direction and placing a hand on his neck, the grip like a vice as it held onto him. Nom grabbed the wrist and arm of the man who seemed intent on killing him but instead, examined him. The orange glow of his eyes indicated anger from his past life and pride for what could now be.

"Intendant Anor," the fallen Overlord whispered. Then he let go of Nom, much to the latter man's surprise, and rubbed a hand into his forehead. "My arms... my legs..." he stated as he examined the healing of his body. "They have been restored by Mistress Arden Lyn," Nom replied, gesturing to the human woman who had conducted the ceremony.

Quoreal turned to see her and at first, only snarled but then he thanked her for restoring him to full health. "It has been so long and my path has been far too dark for any to ever possibly imagine returning from," he added. "And yet you did well when I helped you survive all these years," Nom said. Quoreal tried to stand up as Nom spoke, fell, but quickly recovered and stood up with the aid of the side of the altar before speaking again.

"Of course I did well with your help!" he snarled. Paying no further heed to the woman who had saved his life, he got used to walking on his new feet before making full running laps around the lab. Then, when he finally had a feel for his legs and his arms, he commanded Nom Anor to find him weapons that he could use for his revenge. "Not so fast there, milord: much has changed since you were overthrown and you still need time to adjust to some of these changes," Nom explained.

"You can tell me about them later, I simply wish to have a feel for the weapons I am most familiar with and get some practice back down. Obey me or die!" Quoreal ordered. I like this man's attitude: fierce and unrelenting, a hint of cunning to supplement the brute force Arden observed. Smiling, she simply continued to watch as Nom Anor obeyed his order by tossing an amphistaff near him, probably having anticipated that Quoreal would want a weapon.

For her, it was an opportunity to observe what the Yuuzhan Vong could do with their weapons in case Onimi had any of these beside the Force in their battle. She watched as Quoreal claimed the staff for himself and watching as it took on all sorts of different shapes from a whip to a blade. Impressive and since it most likely counters a lightsaber, Depa will need to be cautious if Onimi has one of these as well Arden told herself. Stroking her chin in thought, she was beginning to wish that Depa was here with her now but this was overshadowed by the possibility of Onimi sensing this.

If he was connected to the Force, wouldn't he be suspicious of her activity even if it was down underground and not above? Wouldn't Vergere have helped him notice these things to the best of his abilities? Or had she not yet taught him anything about how to use the Force for such purposes as that? There was no way that could have happened unless... unless he was just starting out and she had yet to even reach the point where he could teach him to seek out these sorts of disturbances.

**Onimi was ripped from** the world of sleep by a sudden rise in Force usage that wasn't his own. His heart pounded to the ribs and he could feel its beat along with its intensity on his body. He didn't know for certain but he was pretty sure that he had just sensed a disturbance like Vergere described. How was it possible for someone other than him to use the Force here when all other Forces users were on the enemy side of the galaxy?

_Could it be those women that I foresaw when the elder Warmaster Lah mentioned Thrawn having allies? Are they here for some reason that I do not yet know?_ Onimi asked silently. His initial impulse was to alert Shimrra to this turn of events but he thought better of it: Shimrra had enough without him being bothered in the middle of the night for a suspicion. Shaking his head, he decided to think nothing of it until he could find Vergere in the morning and explain this presence.

It was unnatural to him but it was probably due to his people being outside of the Force, normally. He was the first in fifteen thousand years to be attuned to the Force and as a result, he was alone in his dealings with whatever happened in relation to it. But it didn't mean that he was without help: Vergere had created a portal that allowed for Force energy to seep into his body. It gave him power and also healed him from such traumatic experience as this: it was his life and his curse.

Until he mastered the Force and harnessed this gate's power, it was more in control of him than he was even in control of himself. Sure, he could withdraw power from it but the price was increasing dependence on that power until he couldn't live without it. Then, if he reached that point, its destruction would mean his own defeat at the hands of someone who didn't need a source of power to survive. He wondered if these foreseen women were the ones sent to undo him or at least make him independent.

If the latter, it could be a sign of good things to come for him and his future of controlling Shimrra and indirectly ruling the Yuuzhan Vong as a result. Vergere would still be needed to teach him the ways of the Force but even her time was beginning to wear out. However, when she had taught him all that she could about the Force and became more of a hindrance, he would destroy her forevermore. Granted, she would be expecting him to attack her but he would prove to be superior when he finally did and he would cast her soul into oblivion, reducing her body to ashes in the process.

But instead of bothering the Supreme Overlord and withdrawing more power for comfort, Onimi was surprised to see his wife waiting for him. "So much distress in you, it's a wonder you get any sleep at all," she said to him. "I do what I can when I can, Luna. You need know no more than that," he replied.

"But what if I say I do?" she asked defiantly. "Then I would say that you need to remember your place and know that I can do just fine without the bothers of a woman," he answered. Onimi knew better than to give her any ground in a society that mostly encouraged competition for dominance. However, the only reason he would have to tolerate his wife as an equal authority to himself was if she were a Shaper.

He would also have to give her tolerance if she was a priestess but fortunately for his own misogynistic views, she was neither. "This is not a patriarchal society for your information: the only reason I tolerate you acting like this is because I am of a lower rank than you!" she hissed. "Nonetheless, you will tolerate me so long as I have Shimrra's protection otherwise you would be higher than me as you diligently have pointed out to me," he replied calmly. That was true too: after attaching yammosk tissue to his brain in an experiment, he had discovered the Force.

He was marked as a Shamed One and his face was hideously deformed by the goddess, Yun-Harla. Were it not for Shimrra's label hovering over his head, Luna would indeed have been of superior rank to Onimi as a result despite being an Attendant. However, something inside him longed for the return of Yun-Harla, a forbidden desire for revenge against a deity that no one had had before him. Tossing that aside for now, he focused on making his wife subordinate to him again or persuading her to leave through intimidation.

It had been long ago decreed that Luna could not produce children and as such, was given to Onimi as a joke. But now it would appear as though the joke would need to be cut off before it could do him anymore damage. "You know Luna, I have begun to wonder why you were chosen to be my wife of all the women that could have been used to play a cruel joke on me. But now I know why," he said, bluffing at his core but it was a bluff that he hoped would work on her.

"Why is that? Because they hoped that we died of old age or fighting each other?" she asked him. "Actually yes," he said, realizing he really wasn't bluffing about knowing the reason. Whether subconsciously or not, he had always known and now he had an opportunity to pass a test.

Before disappearing, Vergere had asked him to sever a personal connection of any sort in order to prove his commitment to the Force. The portal that provided him power vaporized anyone else who touched it and here was his defiant wife arguing with him once again. Despite Shimrra's reassurance that she would grow to love him and vice versa, neither member of the couple had anything short of hate. But as he thought about all this, he noticed that his comment had surprised her and practically shut her up right then and there.

"Except now, I have ample opportunity to have you die fighting without anything happening to me. You see, Vergere wanted me to sever a bond from my past in order to commit myself to the Force. I had thought hard as to what it meant seeing as I didn't want to cut off my connection with Shimrra and risk losing everything I've built up to so far but now the solution is here," he explained calmly. "What are you going to do, kill me?" she asked.

He went to answering yes but then hesitated, something telling him that there would be a fate worse than death for her. In addition, the Court had already beared more hatred toward Luna than to him and anything he said would be believed for once. Instead of throwing her into the portal and vaporizing her, he had a better fate in mind and he would start by exposing what he knew of her. "No, better: I will relinquish all information as to who your parents are to the Court," he said aloud.

"But that would make me a Shamed One even worse than you and you could potentially be redeemed from your own shame. In exchange, however, I would be put with the working caste and made to work until I drop!" she exclaimed. Onimi smiled and stated that that was precisely what he intended to do if she did not bring herself back into submission to him. As expected, she dropped down and begged him not to do what he vowed he would do if she did not keep to serving him.

"Your mother was a harlot and your father a thief... I think that would be interesting information for the Court," he said. The reason he said this was because as he caressed her face and stood above her, he realized that she was mostly bluffing. She only did this so that she could reassure herself that she had another chance at defying his authority and acting a little more freely than she already did. However, now that Onimi had seen through her facade, he was going to call her out on it.

"I'm begging you, don't tell them what my parents were," Luna said, her bluff slowly transforming into genuine terror. But for Onimi, this was the point of no return: he had punish his wife for good and pass Vergere's test: the powers of a god at his command were too great to resist. "I'm afraid it's too late, darling: I have laid the files on top of all the others Shimrra has to receive. He will know of your parents' treachery to our people by dawn of tomorrow and you will be cast out by nightfall," he said.

"No, please! I'll do anything, I'll let you do anything you want to me, just please don't let him see those files!" she screamed. "You said that the last time I threatened to expose them and look how that turned out," he replied softly. "But this time I mean it, I will never defy you again, I swear!" she shouted.

"You had too many chances to reform from your past errors however, you will have a reprieve from what I have set in motion," he said. She looked at him with a manner that begged him to reveal what he meant and that was just what he did. "Before you are cast off, I will unite my body with yours one last time and then let the guards take you in the morning," he said. Then he violently pulled her up from where she was kneeling, bent her over a table and proceeded to tear her clothes off.

When he had succeeded in that, he pulled down his own pants and proceeded to unite his body with hers. It was a long night with him thrusting into her ass and the sound of her whimpers of pain as she took it in. But for Onimi, this union of their bodies was more delightful than previous especially seeing how distraught she was during the whole thing. And when he was finished, he left her there, naked and cold to reel in the effects of his forced union with her body as well as her personal defeat.

Smiling, he knew that Vergere would be pleased when she heard that he had disconnected from his wife after one last night of sex thus cutting off a bond. But at the same time, the thought of Vergere took some of the victory away, made it hollower than he thought it would be. It was especially hollow considering what would have happened if his wife had not already been there sitting in wait for him. However, it wasn't long before Onimi put this aside as well in favor of returning to sleep, vowing to figure everything out in the morning when he was fresh and alive again.

**Fifteen times, Admiral Thrawn** had made trips to the territories of the Yuuzhan Vong, including some of their encroachments onto Zonama Sekot. Since these were not military in nature, he seldom ever really gave more heed than to document them for his trips home. However, something about the way this visit had turned out began to make him hollow inside, a lesser version of his former self. Fifteen years ago, he had promised Arden Lyn and her apprentice Depa Billaba that he would rescue them.

Search parties were mounted in accordance with the terms of the truce and had still found nothing. He hated making promises that he didn't or couldn't keep for whatever reason and this was probably the worst such one. If the Yuuzhan Vong hadn't gotten to them by now, they were as good as lost in the Void for all time or until they got into the path of a star. Then it hit him: this night made him feel especially hollow because it was fifteen years to the night he had lost the two of them in the Void.

Fifteen years to the day since he made that promise that somehow eluded him in being kept and continued to eat at his heart accordingly. _Give up, you can't focus on this forever_ he said to himself. But he pushed it aside and shook his head. He would find them somehow, some way, he'd find them.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Chapter Nine**

"We both know I was always the better swordmistress of the two of us, Vergere. You might as well just drop your sabers and come with me now before you humiliate yourself greatly," Depa warned. "When we were young, you did prove yourself, true but now I am more powerful than I was in those old days. Now I will destroy you Depa unless you give into who you truly are: a witch of the Dark Side that Mace Windu should have killed when he had the chance!" Vergere hissed.

She positioned her saberstaff in a ready stance, making sure that Depa knew she was serious about fighting. "Then you leave me no choice," Depa whispered sadly. She withdrew her own lightsaber and ignited the blade, donning an offensive Vaapad stance to signal her own readiness. The orange blade burst to life and hissed whenever drops of rainwater came in contact with the heat of it.

But Vergere made the first move in very much a similar fashion to what she remembered her doing when they first trained together. She raised the saberstaff over her head and spun down but Depa's new knowledge of Vaapad made it so that she didn't have to jump over her like she used to. Instead, she simply swatted on blade aside and defended the other whilst making long, sweeping arc and strong forward stabs in an attempt to penetrate her old friend's defenses. This also helped her build up momentum for creating the illusion of there being seven blades rather than just the one.

It was an keen observation that Windu had made whilst creating Vaapad and since he had used it against her, she could very easily count the number of blades that he made it appear he was using. True that Depa had not used this tactic on Vergere before but that was solely because Depa knew only Ataru at that time as well as some Shien which she integrated into her use of Vaapad. It was an application that had held its own surprisingly well against Mace Windu in their duel on Haruun Kal. Nonetheless, as she was observing, it was working very well against Vergere who then turned to the next part of her skill.

Here, Vergere incorporated her skills in Shii-Cho into her saberstaff bladework via channeling its aggression and raw power into each stroke. She also channeled the precision of Makashi into each aggressive stroke, making her application of the saberstaff much deadlier than was the norm of it. Granted, Darth Maul could probably surpass her application of it due to more training but even then, it would have been an impressive duel of saberstaffs to see. However, she directed her focus back on the task at hand and went on a full Vaapad offensive to repel further attacks from the Fosh warrior.

"You've learned some new things, did Windu train you in that style he was working on when I left?" Vergere asked as the duel progressed. "Yes he did and we both managed to become quite the experts at it," Depa answered. "It's beautiful, I'll give you that much but it is no match for my new powers," Vergere stated. Then she plunged one end of her weapon into the ground which and imbued it with so much Force power that it created a bubble that exploded outward and took Depa off her feet.

But Depa Billaba was quickly back on her feet with powers of her own, attacking first with the energy of Force Destruction. When Vergere dodged that, she attempted to strike her down with Force Lightning which Depa caught in her hand, absorbed, and reflected back at the avian. Vergere replied by simply throwing up her hands to form a barrier that reduced the lightning to nothing in minutes. After that, she tried again with the lightning though Depa once again caught it and reflected it back at her.

"Thracia never really did teach you how to restrain yourself, did she?" Depa mocked. They both knew that comment wasn't true but she hoped there was still some bond left between them. Being a Mistress of the Dark Side meant exploiting such things for personal gain and Vergere took the bait. "You know as well as I do what she taught me!" the Fosh woman hissed before charging at her opponent again.

She hacked down with both blades then brought it back up for another round of double slashing before concluding with yet another hack at Depa who dodged it all. Then just as Vergere was beginning to spin her blade over her head, Depa reached out with the Force and called Thracia's lightsaber to her. Smiling, she ignited it and raised in conjunction to her own to intercept both of Vergere's blades as they attempted to hack her down. She was always a little slower and sloppier with her use of the saberstaff than I was with my use of the traditional blade Depa regretted mentally.

Taking advantage of the exposure that Vergere's stance left, she kneed her in the stomach hard enough to push her back a couple centimeters. Then she positioned herself in such a manner that she was literally launched into the air at a diagonal angle, holding the blade tips out as she did so. She also held the hilts close to her chest in order to add a little more precision and ease into the next transition. Here, she positioned the blades in front of her back and arched her body so that the blades stood in front of her waist just in time to intercept a blow from Vergere there.

Using the momentum the arch gave her, Depa lifted her blades up and over her head then spun around so that her own blade would be whipped straight into Vergere's eyes if she hadn't caught it. Depa pushed the blade that caught her own aside and attempted to slice her in two with Thracia's blue blade though this was also intercepted by another of Vergere's light-green ones. However, Vergere managed to break off both crossings of blades and the two of them merely exchanged blows with Vergere spinning and hacking and Depa stabbing and slashing in long arcs. Then Depa began gaining the advantage with her continuous effort on Vergere's defenses combined with some bursts of Pyrokinesis.

It was here that Depa began to notice the tendrils that wrapped and even went into Vergere's hands began to heat up. Those creatures seem to be susceptible to heat, I think I will keep it up and see if it helps her snap out of this Depa thought to herself. She continued to attack with Pyrokinesis and Force Lightning, realizing that dry, burning heat killed these snakes. Chunks melted away but still Depa could see her fierce desire to be rid of her old friend, the desire apparently her own.

Using Jar'Kai to fend off Vergere's attacks whenever she couldn't use her Force powers against her. The snakelike creatures in her hands eventually died, slithering out of little holes in Vergere's hand and burned up. But Vergere still continued, likely because the creatures had already taken their full effect on her or else she genuinely wanted to kill Depa Billaba. However, as more lightsaber blows were exchanged, Depa began to observe a change in the patterns of her old friend's behavior.

_No, I can't let her think I'm being merciful to her. I must push harder as my Mistress would want!_ she exclaimed to herself. And that was just what she did: she pushed so hard that she almost dislocated her shoulders but managed to make Vergere give several feet of ground away. It was then that Depa decided to use more Force powers than lightsaber technique against the avian woman. First, she attacked with a burst of Force Destruction which her friend dodged by leaping above the power wave as it crashed into a pillar behind her, crumbling it and sending the pieces down the tower.

Then Vergere replied with a wave of Force Lightning that Depa absorbed before reflecting it back at her. The Fosh couldn't do anything short of a barrier against it and when the lightning passed over her, she tried again only to have the same result occur where Depa absorbed and reflected. Then Depa went on the offensive again, watching as Vergere leapt for one final attack with her saberstaff. However, Depa managed to catch this with both of her lightsabers and even made many sweeping arcs with each blade.

Then suddenly, her luck turned for the better and she managed deflect with her own blade and use Thracia's to bisect Vergere's sabestaff. After that, she pommeled her in the face with the same lightsaber and threw her up against a pillar with the Force before applying Force Crush on her. When Vergere showed resistance and even surprised her with a sudden burst of telekinesis, Depa was harsh. Instead of letting her run off and escape after letting her go, Depa threw her former friend against the pillar again and then accumulated energy before releasing it as Kinetite.

The result was Vergere being smashed right through the pillar with the Force and send spiraling to the base of the Citadel, several meters below. Depa slowly walked to the edge and watched as Vergere disappeared, due to the height of her fall, before her very eyes. Tears of remorse shined in her eyes before rolling out and following Vergere down the shaft of the tower as if wanting to be with her. The fallen Jedi herself knew how much she wanted Vergere to return with her to the galaxy that had seen both their births and to the Jedi Temple they were both raised in from very young ages.

She was even tempted to the point of extending a foot over the edge of the tower and almost leaping after her. However, she pulled herself back in and turned to leave the platform of the Citadel spire. Unfortunately, Yuuzhan Vong soldiers started pacing up the stairs to where she was in an attempt to stop her from leaving, likely planning to imprison her. Smiling, Depa was amazed at the simplicity of her escape which was just simply to jump over the platform edge in front of her and slow her fall.

_I'm sorry Vergere, I wish we could have taken you back home. There are many who still missed you even after I was put into the coma_ she thought to herself sadly. When she finally landed at the bottom of the Citadel base, she made her escape quick so as not to be tempted to find her. As it would turn out, it was probably for the better that she didn't try considering the soldiers attacking her.

**Awakening from the effects** of the Insanity, Vergere found herself in terrible pain and falling from the top of the Citadel. _How in the hell did I get here and why am I in pain?_ she demanded to herself. But she suspected why: Nom Anor had put her in the insanity and then had her fight against someone who also could use the Force like her. Who could it have been, seeing as Onimi wouldn't dare turn against her now nor have the power to defeat her?

Deciding she would worry about that later, she decided to focus on the issue at hand of saving herself from her fall. Though it hurt her to do so, she called upon the power of telekinesis to slow down her fall and make it hurt less when she landed than she knew it already would. Using occasional burst, she slowed her fall only to have to do it again when it picked up deadly momentum. She would have done better were it not for the pains and aches in her body which were likely from an attack by a Jedi.

But what would a Jedi be doing all the way here and why would they come? Were they a search party sent by the Council to find Vergere, only discovering her location just now? Who knew what it was that caused this to happen for the old Fosh who had no friends that knew about her status? Unless there was someone who had left the Order and continued chasing her down or was an old Padawan of Thracia.

But then there was another possibility: what if it was Master Windu or his former apprentice, Depa Billaba? Truly, she hoped that it was Depa or Mace though the former was the more excitable idea than the latter. _I will enjoy the possibility of Master Windu coming to my rescue though not if Depa has somehow perished since we last met_ she told herself silently. Finally, when she knew that she would be safe even if she didn't use telekinesis, she gave into her pain and went out.

This was especially so after she had finally landed on a pile of rocks that did nothing to soften her fall or prevent her from falling into blackness. But just before letting herself succumb, Vergere began a Force Trance that would see her heal slowly though she would remain comatose while doing so. When her limp, but living, body was eventually found by a search party sent by Onimi and placed into medical care to advance her healing. However, it would not advance it enough to make her useful to him again nor to any visitor she would have from then on.

Thus, Onimi decided best to keep his Fosh ally a secret, never letting anyone know that she was still alive after the attack. Whoever defeated her will be likely to come after me now, as well. _If that happens, who knows what could happen to the success of my plans_ he told himself. However, as he would find out soon enough, there were those with other intentions for him.

**"So let me get** this straight, you extorted this woman through her apprentice, forcing the latter woman to fight an old friend of hers to persuade Arden to revive me?" Quoreal asked Nom. The Intendant nodded solemnly and held no regret for what he had done, even voicing as much to him. "Sometimes, to get what you want, you have to do what must be done in order to achieve it. That goes for all things that one may desire in this life of the material good and the lust for sexual union," he added.

"You would know nothing of sexual union, you don't even have the capacity for sexual union yourself thanks to your status," Quoreal said, mocking the remark. "I do not now, true, but I once did and I produced four sons and three daughters from those old unions," Nom replied. "Your former status notwithstanding, it was a shameful strategy and it's amazing it succeeded," Quoreal stated. "And may I ask what gives you to capacity to speak of strategy considering your religious background?" Nom asked.

"Just because I chose to accept my religious past does not mean that I wasn't trained for military purposes like any other Supreme Overlord. I underwent the very same training that Shimrra did and underwent the warrior codes that Shimrra adheres to now," Quoreal answered. "Very well, milord, what is the next move if you are so brilliant?" Nom inquired. "You will invite Shimrra to visit your home and explain to him that you had an interesting experiment to show him," Quoreal began.

_I don't think I am going to enjoy where this is going_ Arden thought to herself silently. _Nor do I think you'll enjoy what he has to say next_ the voice of the Talisman admitted. Just before she could ask what the voice meant when it said that, Quoreal continued. "Since Shimrra has an official route he takes to everyone's houses, I will hide along the route in question, lying in wait.

"Arden and her apprentice will accompany me on this mission, assuming this apprentice hasn't been killed, and wipe out the escort for me. Considering their powers and the fact that I need Shimrra alone, they will be their duty. And when he is finally alone, I will reveal myself and attack him with the women covering the rear and overwhelming him," he continued. "That is your grand plan?" an unfamiliar voice chimed in.

Arden was the first to turn and see that it was Depa, returned from her battle at the Citadel which appeared to have shaken her up a bit. "Not an unusually difficult one for the likes of you, I trust?" Quoreal replied, suspecting that it was the apprentice who came in. "Shouldn't be, we've killed Yuuzhan Vong before and we can do it again," Depa replied. The tone of her reply indicated that she had already deduced that the man with glowing orange eyes before her was Quoreal and didn't like him.

"Good, we can use every shred of strength that we can get but in the meantime, Nom... I have use for your skills in the political arena: I need allies for my return if I am to regain it," Quoreal said. "What would you have me do, Majesty?" Nom asked. "What I just said: gather allies and especially traditionalists that are still very much active and desire to have a return to their ways," Quoreal replied.

"And why would anyone support a Supreme Overlord that's technically dead thanks to the rise of another, stronger one?" Depa demanded. "Watch your tongue, young woman or you may not make it out of this alive," Quoreal warned. "Let me talk with my apprentice, it would seem as though she is not in the mood for things that seem- is this correct?- simple strategies," Arden suggested. Quoreal and Nom nodded, deciding to continue strategy talking while Arden counseled Depa and calmed her.

"Is something wrong, apprentice?" Arden asked. "Vergere attacked me most willingly when I arrived to rescue her. This wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that we were once friends in the Jedi Temple. Our Masters were close to each other and often went on missions together, getting to know each other slowly and carefully," Depa answered.

"Many of my friends turned on me when I decided to side with Xendor though most didn't. I am sorry for the loss that was placed upon you," Arden stated. "There's no reason for me to think that she's dead but then, I threw her over a meters high tower so I guess we'll see," Depa replied. "If it is the Will of the Force that we meet your friend again then we shall, I promise," Arden said, reassuring her apprentice.

"I hope it is the will of the Force that we find her and that she will be on better terms with us, this time around. Who knows what I would do if we weren't when we faced again," Depa admitted. "My warning to you now, apprentice, is that if you have to fight her again then you must not hold back from killing her. She will not show the kindness you wish to show her if she is now your enemy," Arden warned.

Depa nodded and thanked her Master for that bit of wisdom which always cheered her up. "Ready to return to the committee meeting to kill a deity in mortal flesh?" Arden asked with a smile. "No deity has mortal flash, Shimrra is no more immortal than his Intendant or his predecessor," Depa replied before saying that she was ready. Giggling, Arden pulled her back into the meeting where Quoreal had managed to create a perfect plan that was now ready for execution.

**Gazing upon the broken** form of the Fosh avian known as Vergere, Onimi had to admit that he was deeply troubled by what had happened. One moment, she was domineering and omnipotent in his eyes but in the next, she was a shallow shell of her former self. _Can it be that easy to break someone so powerful so quickly and if so, why hadn't I done it sooner?_ he asked to himself silently. He couldn't say for certain whether or not he felt grief for the woman who had been there when no one else was.

In fact, he could hardly say he ever felt emotion for anyone nowadays though he might have said otherwise, twenty-five years ago. Had he been asked how he felt then, he might have admitted to feeling distraught at what happened to her. However, now that he looked back on what he had been before he met her all those years before, he had to admit he was somewhat disappointed. Why had one who had been rejected as he had feel such emotions when someone gave him a second chance?

Was it some pathetic hope that perhaps, he could find some normalcy in the insanity caused by his deformities and his insatiable curiosity for the unknown? Could it have been that he was so lonely that he needed companionship of some sort? Was that why he married his wife even though she was given to him as a cruel joke by the other members of the Court? He didn't think he ever knew nor would ever know in the future until it was too late to share this knowledge with his kin.

But whoever the women from his vision were, he had the feeling that he would encounter them and they might reveal something that would enlighten him. He hoped it wasn't in the manner that he had been seeing in his visions of a green beam throwing him into a dark void behind him. The way it looked to him was that it would destroy him but he couldn't be sure just from a single, unconnected vision. Or were the visions he had been experiencing more connected than he gave them credit for being?

After all, something remained a mystery to him: what did Nom Anor and Quoreal have to do with it? Quoreal was dead and Nom was an unintimidating Intendant of the Elite Class. Why would they be involved with these mysterious human women who came to his world? He didn't like the indications this gave him and he hoped there was something he could do about it soon.


	10. Chapter Ten

**Chapter Ten**

When Shimrra began his day, almost none of it seemed to make sense: first he was invited to Nom Anor's estate for business pertaining to the Elite. Then he was told by Onimi that he had sensed abnormal activity in that Force Power of his, including Vergere ending up comatose. He also told him of a vision he had of two women in black destroying him and attacking Shimrra himself. _What is it about these women that has my Court Jester fleeing for his life?_ Shimrra asked silently.

"I would recommend not accepting Nom Anor's invitation even if it costs you a little respect amongst the Elite," Onimi stated. "And risk losing their resources?" Shimrra asked. "The Elite are fools, all of them, it'll be a matter of time before there is no further need for them and it's approaching. And rapidly approaching at that, if you must know," Onimi answered.

Smiling, Shimrra was comforted by that thought: soon his vision of an autocratic government for the Yuuzhan Vong would be complete. He would dub every last Intendant a Shamed One and take full responsibility for the governance of his people except for those who surrendered to his new power. Personally, he preferred Nom Anor lived long enough to grovel before his feet and be one of the people he spared for enslavement in his new government. But then, perhaps that would be decided when he went for his visit to the Intendant's homestead with the desire to secure his loyalty for all time.

"I am not phased in the slightest by mere visions and suspicions, I will accept Nom Anor's invitation even if you believe the man to be foolish," Shimrra stated after thinking about it. "Milord, I warn you one last time that it may be too dangerous for you!" Onimi exclaimed. "That's the problem there: you don't even know if it will be dangerous for me or not," Shimrra replied. "But sir!" Onimi began.

"I will hear no more on this matter: if there is anything meaning to attack me along my route to Nom Anor, I will find out for certain. There are times when I doubt your wisdom, you know, and times like that are times when I need to discern the facts for myself. Now be gone before I desire to find a new Court Jester and cast you back into the slums from whence you came!" Shimrra ordered. "Yes Master, as you wish," Onimi grumbled under his breath.

_You got gall speaking to me like that after all I have done for you. You wouldn't have lasted a minute against Quoreal were it not for my powers enhancing your strength_ he thought. _Sometimes, I wonder if you forget yourself and if so, why_ Shimrra asked himself, disappointedly. At that point, Onimi retreated to his headquarters and decided to meditate and see what he could discern.

It was his hope that by the time he had information to give to his puppet for certain, it wasn't too late to stop whatever these visions spoke of from coming true. If Shimrra perished, Onimi's aspirations for great political power would be revealed and he would be executed before he could fight. He didn't want to be separated from his pawn but in this instance, he had absolutely no choice. The independence that remained in Shimrra had fought back in this instance and won a small victory over him, after all.

**"Quoreal, Shimrra should be** beginning his march to my Palace shortly. If you wish to stop him before he reaches my place, you might want to position yourself soon," Nom stated. "Very well, then that is what we shall do," Quoreal said, gesturing for Arden Lyn and Depa. "You know what to do, right, apprentice?" Arden asked, a question answered by Depa nodding.

"The two of you shall head out first in order to secure that I can walk about safely to my position," Quoreal said. It wasn't a question, it was an order and they knew better than to defy him on this matter. Not because they couldn't kill him but because his allies had ways of making sure that they never got home. Scanning the area with the Talisman, which had become accustomed to seeking out Yuuzhan Vong at this point, Arden nodded as a signal that he was safe to proceed to the ambush point.

Breathing his first breath of fresh air since Shimrra had nearly killed him all those years ago, he hesitated but then continued, marching in demonstration of his dominance. _We revived him and this is the thanks we get from him and Nom for our troubles? I ought to strangle the two of them, right now_ Depa thought but didn't say. Arden looked back and made sure that her face told her apprentice that she had heard that thought in her own head and didn't want her acting on it.

The last thing they needed was a dead Intendant and thousands of angry people running up and down the cities in a desperate attempt to destroy them. And when the Talisman glowed in acknowledgement of reading the thought, Arden was especially vigilant. Jumping onto the roofs of opposite buildings, they ran along the path to the ambush positions, being sure to be quick to get there. Time was of the essence and the sooner that they arrived, the sooner they could begin attacking the soldiers accompanying Shimrra before taking him on with the aid of Quoreal.

Arden created another sword out of the scabbard of her first blade so that she could use Jar'Kai and not be hindered by holding onto the scabbard itself. Depa, on the opposite side, also readied her lightsaber for use for the first time in the fifteen years that they had been frozen. Now, it was only a matter of time before the escort came through and they could work their magic on it. _Patience Depa, you will have your chance to avenge your friend's destruction yet_ Arden thought silently.

**Quoreal patiently waited at** the ambush point that he had planned out beforehand, amphistaff tied around his arm with its neck in his hand. He also had two Nang huls, two Razor Bugs, two Snap Bugs, and a single Blast Bug ready for use against his enemy. As if that wasn't good enough, he had acquired a Plasma Eel, a Plaeryin Bol, and five Magma Pebbles that he would use on vehicles. The Intendant planned on adding more weapons to the arsenal, Firejelly for torture and a Fighting Claw for combat.

However, Quoreal was not sure he would have much use for the latter though he could think of several reasons why he would include the former. Firejelly and Plaeryin Bol were both good at what they did and would serve him well when torturing Shimrra, slowly and painfully. And as he thought about it, he looked to the bag on his belt which contained some Tokhlor Tallow. He wondered why Nom Anor would ask him to bring that along if it was going to stink but he had requested it nonetheless.

As if that wasn't strange enough, Nom Anor had also persuaded Quoreal to stick a tooth of Irksh poison in one of the gums where his real teeth had fallen. Truly, Nom Anor has gotten more and more bizarre since we last saw each other as allies amongst the Elite Quoreal thought to himself. While he could admit he would not voice this until he was ready to do so, he began to wonder if Nom knew something that he didn't. It was a worry that would continue to eat at him at least until he had finally achieved his revenge against Shimrra.

It wouldn't be long now before Arden Lyn and her apprentice would begin destroying members of the escort that the Supreme Overlord had handpicked before leaving. Once they had given him the signal that he could proceed, he would start by using the Tallow to catch his nemesis off-guard. Let's see if Shimrra is foolish enough to take the bait even without his precious Onimi Quoreal thought. The taste of revenge was getting sweeter and sweeter in his tongue until it became overwhelming he had to spit a little bit of the taste out of his mouth just to sustain himself in position.

**Something was not right** about the path that Shimrra had chosen to take to Nom Anor's residence. It was too quiet for his taste and when the environment was too quiet for him, he was trained to be especially alert at those points. Perhaps, Onimi was right about letting him go with Shimrra to this little appointment that Nom Anor had arranged with the Master of the Yuuzhan Vong himself. The last time something like this happened, Quoreal had been planning an ambush for me Shimrra observed.

That ambush had cost Shimrra his wife and had almost cost Shimrra his own existence. This was a mirror of that environment all those years ago and he had to admit he was becoming edgy. He wondered if this was something similar happening to him again since his "escort" was disappearing. It started with one man who was pulled by some invisible force into an alleyway, never to be seen again.

When he sent two men to go investigate, they were pulled in the opposite direction into yet another alleyway to never be seen again. What kind of sorcery is this? Shimrra demanded to himself angrily. Slowly but surely, the numbers were beginning to disappear and he readied himself to defend against the source of this power. Except there was one problem: not only could he pinpoint a source and attack it with a blast from his plasma eel but it stopped when all of his men were killed off.

Whoever is behind this is going to pay when I get my hands on them! I'll rip them apart, I'll skin the parts, and keep the bones for myself! he vowed silently. "Shimrra, I have been waiting for you!" a voice said from behind him. The Supreme Overlord paused, uncertain that he wasn't hearing things and slowly turned around, ready to whip out the eel at a moment's notice.

In villa above him, stood a man who looked vaguely familiar but those glowing orange eyes did nothing to help him pin a face. "I'm not sure I've made your acquaintance, just who are you and what do you want with me?" he asked. "Truly, I am surprised you could have forgotten me so easily after you betrayed me, left me for dead, and usurped my position as Supreme Overlord," the warrior answered. Shimrra wasn't sure he heard right: how could Quoreal have returned, alive and well, from the wounds that he had had inflicted on him during their final duel for supremacy of the Yuuzhan Vong?

What sorcery was it that allowed this man to return from the dead or was he ever dead? Then there was the third possibility: what if this man was just a sham, imitating his nemesis? "If you are Quoreal, how did I defeat you?" he asked, determined to find out the truth. "Ha, that's easy enough: you used your amphistaff to open my chest before you put your face into my heart.

"You then bit a chunk of it off and spat it back out before calling the duel done with since I wasn't supposed to have survived the wounds you inflicted. Nor did I think you would survive the wounds I inflicted upon you before I succumbed to the darkness of death," his enemy replied. "It is you, how was that possible?" Shimrra demanded. "You forget that I warned you that I have allies more than willing to help me in places you wouldn't expect," Quoreal replied.

_He was damned right about that but even so, it's a miracle that he was healed so well. I bet he kept the eyes and facial scars to remind him of what he went through. That isn't unlike Quoreal to use some of his scars as reminders of his trials_ Shimrra observed mentally. "Maybe so but I defeated you before and I can defeat you again," he said aloud.

Quoreal chuckled and told him not to be so certain and proved it when two women came out of the shadows, one of them with a strange orange-glow on her blade. The other had two metal blades that were crescent shaped and both of them wielded them to the same effect as his amphistaff. So ferocious and merciless was the attack that it was almost overwhelming. Then Quoreal joined into the fray and it became all too much for him: he was instantly overwhelmed and rendered unconscious.

All it took was the destruction of the entire escort as well as the help of two black-robed women to put Shimrra's dynasty under its greatest stress to date. _Revenge will be mine but it will be slow and painful before the end. Thank you Nom Anor, you have given me the tools to complete my return to power_ Quoreal thought as he carried Shimrra over his shoulders to a secluded shelter. The woman followed behind him like the ghosts they were becoming with each day they delved into their powers.

**Onimi sensed the women** from his vision again but this time, they worked to overwhelm Shimrra with the aid of another Yuuzhan Vong. A closer look showed a face that looked like Quoreal though scarred and with glowing orange eyes that glowed brighter whenever the warrior was angry. _How is it possible for Quoreal to survive his injuries and become an active fighter again?_ he asked himself. It didn't make sense to him nor did he think he wanted to find out how it could have happened at this time or any future time.

Nonetheless, he knew one thing was certain: Shimrra was in danger and the women, combined with possibly Quoreal, were somehow involved in his peril. There was only one thing to do now that that was decided, find out who they were and why they had come and attacked the Supreme Overlord. He couldn't count on Warmaster Czulkang or Intendant Anor to help him, they looked down on him enough already. Nor could he count on any member of the Elite coming to back him up either so this was purely a mission of his own wits and cunning, fighting alone against an unknown enemy.

What could possibly be so special about these women and why in all of Yuuzhan'tar should they spark his interest? Was it because they carried the Force just like he did, were they wiser in its use than he was? This curiosity combined with the need to save his pawn that he could not turn down an opportunity to know the meaning of his visions. Giving his blessings to a swift recovery on Vergere's part, he marched out of the infirmary and began making his way to where he sensed these phantoms.

As he turned again and again through the winding streets, their presence grew stronger as he drew closer to where they were. _Will these two have more experience than I can handle? Were they the ones who comatosed Vergere and left me to be on my own against them? It is a neat trick if that was their intent but not one that will work against me in the slightest_ he vowed.

He would save Shimrra even if it killed him to do so and he wasn't about to let a couple women stop him from doing that. But something about these women was still scary enough to throw him off and he didn't know why. Perhaps it was their likeliness to have more experience in using the Force than him, perhaps more than enough to kill him while he was away from the portal. The will of the Force would reveal itself to him when he finally faced them much as he hated surprises up ahead.

**"Still as pathetic and** weak as ever! And they've called you Supreme Overlord all these years!" Quoreal mocked. "You know, when I bit off a chunk of your heart, I should have bitten off the whole thing, instead," Shimrra faintly replied. Anger saw Quoreal send another dose of Bol poison at his enemy, agonizing him and causing him to scream upon first contact. "I will make sure you stay awake long enough to feel every single shred of pain I plan to inflict upon you.

"Your death will be indescribably excruciating, you will suffer as I have been forced to suffer all these years. I might even keep you on the brink of death, suspended in a tube and forced to live as a vegetable as I was forced to do because of you!" Quoreal vowed passionately. _Where is Onimi when I need him?_ Shimrra asked himself. However, he was not about to panic because he was without his Court Jester, in fact, he still had a few tricks before he gave up on waiting for Onimi.

"All these years as a vegetable and when your mind is finally healed, this is the best you can do?" Shimrra asked, laughing at him. "Trust me you foolish little boy, I have just begun to even do my least, nevermind my best," Quoreal answered. His chuckle proved that he wasn't lying and Shimrra suddenly began to fear for his life as Quoreal probably intended. _Oh boy, let's see what else does he have in mind: higher doses of poison for me to take in?_ Shimrra asked himself.

However, he would come to regret that mental comment as soon as he saw Quoreal pull a fighting dagger out but instead of attaching it to him, he stuck it into a bit of magma rock. Shimrra knew immediately that Quoreal was heating it until it was a white-hot bit of blade. With plans to place the sharper side on his skin, cauterizing wounds instantly and causing him tremendous pain.

As he looked around, he saw the women that had attacked him again and he had to admit he found it silly that he would use his facial expressions to demand help. One of them, the one who had had the orange blade that was now shut off, was the only one that made any gestures toward helping him. However, the one who had had the swords earlier stopped her and shook her head and as he observed by following the lips, he could tell she was saying that their job was done and they couldn't help him. _Did he pay you for this or was there something else going on?_ Shimrra wondered as Quoreal placed the white-hot blade on his soft skin.

But even the distraction was not great enough to prevent him from crying out at the pain of the heat of the blade. "I will make sure you stay awake long enough to feel every single cut like all the other tortures, I promise," Quoreal vowed, laughing sadistically. But as he returned his gaze to the women, he saw the leader turnaround for some strange reason and unsheathe a little bit of her sword for battle. He wondered what it could be though he did hope that it was Onimi coming to his rescue, at last.

**Nom Anor was deep** in thought about what he had done, wondering if he should be regretting it right about now. Czulkang had already told him that he should never have blackmailed the sorceresses with Vergere if he had to blackmail, at all. "It will come back to haunt you Nom Anor, even if they don't kill you in the end," he added. "Just tell me when our city lands on Zonama Sekot and I promise I will get them on their way back to Admiral Thrawn," Nom replied.

"We'll be arriving in three days and we will be there for six weeks, you will return them to Thrawn as per the terms of the truce, yes?" Czulkang inquired. "Yes I will, they have done what I have wished and they will be rewarded according to their own silly desires," Nom explained, annoyedly. "I will have my son supervise their return and if you do anything foolish, he will slice off your head," Czulkang warned.

Nom rubbed his neck in fright of that possibility and made sure that Czulkang knew that he was going to do it. "And you will know that Tsavong will not hold back if he does have to kill you, yes?" Czulkang asked. Nom nodded and asked Czulkang why he was so protective of those women even if it would obey the terms of the truce. "Because I see the innocence in Arden as well as the kind, maternal love of Depa and I wish for them both to make it back.

"One cannot exist without the other and be happy. Actually, I think they are the best embodiments of human emotion that you can ever expect to get," Czulkang answered. "And why is that?" Nom inquired. Czulkang laughed and mocked Nom Anor's rational, scientific understanding of most other things before explaining.

But when he did, what he said astounded the Intendant more than he would have appreciated, having had to put emotion out of the equation. "In order to understand human emotion, you will need to first understand Yuuzhan Vong emotion, the way we feel. I think you will find, when you let your balls grow back, that there is good reason to feel emotion here and there. There is a place for your emotionless, rational point of view but it is almost seldom and far between," he said.

"And you would know this, because?" Nom demanded. "Because I have always been allowed the privilege to feel emotion and can tell you from experience," Czulkang replied.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Chapter Eleven**

Quoreal was soon bored with torturing Shimrra but that didn't mean he wouldn't be back. In fact, he stationed Arden Lyn and Depa to watch over his prize until he returned from where he went._ He's likely going to Nom Anor to request more torture supplies_ Depa thought to herself silently. But when asked about what he would do, the Talisman disproved what Arden's apprentice had said. In fact, it told her that Quoreal actually intended to think of ways he could worsen the pain for his nemesis.

_Certainly sounds normal of him at this point_ Arden stated telepathically. _Truly, the man has a dizzying intellect for someone who's been nearly dead for nearly thirty years. I sense the hand of Onimi in the outcome of the duel between Shimrra and Quoreal_ the Talisman replied. _What do you mean by that?_ Arden asked.

_Shimrra has been a puppet of Onimi ever since they met, seven years before the former would overthrow Quoreal in what appeared to be fair combat. But a power Onimi knew even though Vergere had not arrived on the scene was Force Valor. You know what it does from being a wielder of it yourself but he used it for ill intent: political gain, in other words. Be careful when you and Depa finally face him, he is not to be underestimated_ it answered.

_We're not here to underestimate beings we're about to fight, we're only here to attempt to remove them on behalf of their enemies before going home. All we want now is to go home whether you're aware of that or not_ Arden said. _Oh no worries, I was just as aware of that as I am that Onimi will be arriving any minute to save his puppet from certain death_ it retorted. Arden withdrew her sword and transformed her scabbard into a duplicate blade at that point, ready to fight.

"What is it, Mistress?" Depa asked. "The Talisman says Onimi will be here any minute to save Shimrra," Arden answered. Depa withdrew her lightsaber just as quickly as Arden had withdrawn her weapons and vowed to guard their rear while Arden covered the front. Arden nodded in agreement before adding that they should walk around in a circle to cover every millimeter of ground.

Depa nodded her own agreement and that was just what they did as Shimrra laughed, saying that they would be no match for Onimi's power when he arrived. "He helped me defeat Quoreal and rule the Yuuzhan Vong with an iron hand. What makes you think you stand a chance with your pretty weapons against him?" Shimrra asked. That was when Arden turned around and told him exactly what made them think that they stood a chance against the Court Jester.

"We know what power it is that he used to help you win the throne for we have it ourselves," she said. Shimrra shut up at that point, gulping at the realization that their confidence meant that they had more experience in wielding this power than Onimi did. What he hoped was that even in his inexperience, Onimi's own potential was great enough to withstand their combined strength. And that was when he lunged from the shadows and began his attack on the human women before Shimrra.

**"Sir, even by the** standards of the truce, the Yuuzhan Vong have been very quiet lately. Do you know what it might be that has them so silent?" a Chiss Ensign asked. "Yes, their floating city is headed for Zonama Sekot where they'll be landing for an annual festival, celebrating their survival in the war. It will also be a thanks offering to their gods for having protected them from my wrath, all those years ago," Thrawn answered, adding that they would be no threat.

"With due respect, how can we be sure, sir?" the Ensign, a rookie, asked. "May I remind you that I stated they do this _annually_? I have observed their movements, initially with a similar suspicion to you before I saw what they were doing. Then, as it continued, my suspicion transformed into tolerance but one that could be easily shattered if they violated the truce while on Zonama," the Admiral replied.

"But is it really wise to let them so near other allies of ours that have some of our essential supplies in exchange for what we trade with them every six months?" the Ensign inquired. "The Supreme Overlord mightn't like having to coexist with me peacefully but he does all the same. Remember that I could have very easily let the Ascendancy wipe them out without thought to a truce all those years ago. It was within their power and Shimrra respects that; besides, each year presents another possibility that they may have found someone I'm looking for and have her in their hospitals," he explained.

"And that someone would be?" the Ensign asked. "An ally of ours who nearly sacrificed her life for us but disappeared into the Void. If the Yuuzhan Vong haven't found her and kept her in for medical reasons all these years, then she is still lost in space along with her friend. I couldn't imagine how they would survive all these years without food or drink in their escape pod unless they tranced," Thrawn answered.

"'Tranced', sir?" the Ensign requested. "A Force power that allows anyone who wields it to slow their pulse as well as their metabolism to last months or even years at a time without resources. I have a feeling they used it to sustain themselves all these years though I still haven't found them," Thrawn replied. "They can survive the cold of space during that trance... quite impressive," the Ensign stated.

"Yes and I have a feeling that if anyone knows where they are, it would be Czulkang Lah, Warmaster of the Domain Lah. He was the last officer of the Yuuzhan Vong to have seen whether or not they escaped from the destruction of their cruiser," Thrawn agreed. "You would trust him, sir?" the Ensign asked. "Yes Ensign, I would," Thrawn answered with a face that said that would be all.

The Ensign nodded and left him be to continue thinking about how he would rescue Arden Lyn and Depa Billaba if they were still out there. Even after fifteen years of futile searching and constant negative results, he had never given up in his quest to bring their great powers back right under his thumb. He had very much enjoyed the way Arden had used Battle Meditation to annihilate an entire fleet of Yuuzhan Vong from his Command Center. So much so that he wished their Battle Meld to be back on his side for when he returned into the Known Galaxy to take it for himself.

But now, their time in space stood to thwart all that he had wished to gain, using them as his tool for conquest. The sooner he found them, the sooner he could persuade them to give their power to his cause and help him start ruling the galaxy that was his by right. Yet even with the certitude of victory at the thought of having their power, something chilled Thrawn to the bone. It promised only strife and defeat in the future and it was for his sake that it didn't threaten his ultimate goals.

**From the shadows and** with two amphistaffs at his disposal, Onimi lunged at the enemies that he had foreseen in many a vision and had likely comatosed Vergere. _They will pay for their insults against my goals for the Yuuzhan Vong and the galaxy they seek to conquer!_ he vowed silently. What he was most shocked about after making this stout vow was that the women had already been expecting him and began hammering him down with their combined bladework. "Impossible, how could you have known that I was coming?" he demanded.

"We sense many things in the Force, Court Jester and you happened to be one of them," the woman with the swords replied. "Sense? I thought non-Yuuzhan Vong had difficulty sensing us if they could do so at all," Onimi stated. "Oh we found a way around that, a way that is actually surprisingly simple," the one with the orange bladelike weapon spoke.

_Impossible, Vergere had to research for years before she found a way to sense me in the Force. How could these two have learned in a matter of days what took her years to master?_ he asked himself silently. "Either way, I will free my master from your clutches without regard as to what it takes," he said aloud. "Then you wouldn't mind if I joined the fray in favor of the women, would you little man?" an ominous voice asked him.

He heard the sound like someone falling from a great height and landing with a hard thud on their feet before turning around to see who approached. "It's been a long time, Onimi, how do I look for a once-dead Supreme Overlord?" the orange-eyed intruder asked before laughing. "You are... Quoreal?" Onimi asked, taking several seconds to register the magnitude of this return. "How is it that the humans say it... oh yeah, 'duh'," Quoreal mocked, laughing more.

"I don't care who these women are or how they revived you but you're going to pay for what you've done to Shimrra and that is a fact!" Onimi exclaimed. "Nobody except your puppet has ever beaten me before and combat is not exactly your talent on my terms. But if you'd like to be the first decapitated trophy I put in the collection, so be it," Quoreal replied calmly before attacking. First, he lunged with an amphistaff and a fighting dagger in hand, his attacks aggressive and without mercy.

The human women accompanying Quoreal treated Onimi no better as he was backed up into them and they began attacking him. Their fighting style was unlike anything he had seen before or what Vergere had told him of the Jedi Order's combat range. In fact, he was willing to bet these were either fallen Jedi or else genuine Sith Ladies that he was fighting. If that was the case, he knew that without Vergere's help, he would be no match for their might combined with Quoreal's vengeance.

So he resolved to use a Force Repulse on them and break the bonds that held Shimrra with a magma cutter he had stolen off a guard. Once the Supreme Overlord was freed, Onimi did the best he could to defend him until he was cleared away from the torture room. Then he himself beat a hasty retreat though he was surprised that his enemies did not give him pursuit. He wondered why although he had a strange feeling that they had other plans for the Supreme Overlord and his Court Jester.

**"No Ladies, let them** go," Quoreal stated. "With due respect sir, we could just finish them off now," Depa suggested. "The fun would not even start if we did that, we'll be patient for now. I have waited so many years for my revenge to play out to its fullest; I can wait a little while longer before it's fulfilled," he replied.

"I think I see what he means to do," Arden said. She didn't even need the Talisman to know what he was planning. "As we speak, Nom Anor is causing the beginnings of a revolution, toying with the beliefs of the traditionalist members of the Elite. They will think that Shimrra is a puppet of our Deception Goddess and will see me as a beacon of hope and justice," he explained.

"You mean to start a revolution... We were brought here by no will of ours and blackmailed into reviving you by Nom Anor, now you want us to take part in your revolution too? How needy can you people be!?" Depa demanded. "As needy as we wish and if you value the sight of your homeland, you will do as I say until I deem you fit for release, understood?" Quoreal ordered.

"You _dare_ order us!?" Arden demanded. Her eyes took on a light-green glow and she reached out with the Force to grab the inside of Quoreal's body, reaching for his vital organs. "I revived you with no help from my apprentice and I can take your life, just as easily. Watch how you speak to me and Depa," she warned before letting him go.

Depa couldn't believe that her Mistress would take on such an intimidating display of power before the former Supreme Overlord and even cringed at what could happen to her. She needed to tread carefully even if her powers did rival her Mistress' if she valued her one only ally in the Void. Then she heard her add something that restored hope and motivation into Depa's being which was needed. "We leave and come of our own will, on account of Czulkang Lah's protection, but because our code forbids us from leaving you when you have just begun to rise we will stay," Arden stated.

But she made it a point that he knew better than to trifle with her or Depa the way he already had ever again. "True that you have the power to kill me but I have the power to destroy you via my death if I wished. I could take your way home with me when you kill me, after all," Quoreal replied. Arden had nothing more to say there but she had the strangest feeling that it was probably for the better that she didn't speak anymore.

However, she did pull her apprentice into a separate room to discuss what they would need to do in order to get free. "No doubt about it, we'll need to call on the protection of Warmaster Czulkang Lah in order to get out alive. He's the only one with power to repel Quoreal off our path and bring us safely home," Arden stated. "But how do we know that he isn't on the side of Quoreal's revolution as opposed to helping Shimrra?" Depa asked.

Arden had to think about that one carefully, knowing full well that they probably couldn't trust anyone now. "I will consult the Talisman, it's the only trustworthy resource we have at our disposal," she said aloud. "How do we know the artifact can tell you anything? It tried to take possession of you before and it was as helpless as us before we obtained Vongsense," Depa asked.

"The Talisman knows what I know and has reconfigured its structural programming to adhere to the obtainment of Vongsense. It'll tell us whether Czulkang is with us or against us but you do have a point, I don't like consulting it anymore than you do," Arden answered. Because of Arden's natural attunement to the artifact, it wasn't long before she could hear the voice of it in her head once more._ Rest assured that Czulkang might officially be on the opposite side, but he is your ally in secret; he will help you leave if you truly desire it_ it answered when posed the question.

_So he'll be doing deals in the dark with us? Can't say that I'm anything short of honored and disappointed at the same time. His title would mean that he was better than that, one would think, but this revolution has brought on desperate times and you know what they say about that_ Arden replied. _That desperate times call for desperate measures, yes, my creator was amongst the first to bring that idea to life_ the Talisman agreed.

"The Talisman has spoken: Czulkang is on our side but not the side of Quoreal's revolution. Which may mean secret contact with his son Tsavong or some other sort of messenger in the future," Arden said. "If that's the case, perhaps there is hope left that we can defeat Onimi and go home quietly," Depa said. Arden nodded and admitted that the Domain Lah was their best hope in this cesspool of insanity that Nom Anor had forced them to create for him.

**Czulkang didn't like the** look of things when scouts brought back rumors of Onimi bringing in a wounded Supreme Overlord Shimrra. His guess was that Quoreal had been successfully resurrected and had tried to attack his old enemy in single combat with the aid of the women. _They wanted to go home and now, they're likely being forced to take part in a new revolution_ he thought to himself. Helpless as he was to back them out of the alliance without risking the people finding out his treasonous affairs with Nom Anor, he wasn't helpless to keep an eye for an opportunity to rescue them.

"Tsavong, can you please come here?" he asked. When his son finally arrived, Czulkang told him what he feared was brewing. "I think Quoreal will use Nom Anor to stir trouble on the political front and get some of the traditionalist Elite to join his revolution. When and if that happens, I want you to exile me from Domain Lah and cast me out as a Shamed One," Czulkang explained.

"But why and how would I be able to do that?" Tsavong asked, confused and very surprised. "The answer is simple: I will pass on the title of Head Warmaster to you and it must appear as though you're using the title to punish me for treasonous actions in years past. I need to be able to keep an eye on the human woman so that they can get home even if the rebellion falls," Czulkang answered. "You care for them and yet you hardly know them, why?" Tsavong inquired.

"Nom Anor blackmailed the one called Arden into resurrecting Quoreal by threat of her apprentice's death at the hands of Vergere. Now, he's allowed Quoreal to hold them hostage which goes against the truce and I must be able to rescue them before it's too late," Czulkang explained. "The lengths you'll go to in order to keep a promise are unrivaled, father," Tsavong stated. "Grand Admiral Thrawn defeated us in fair combat, I think it's safe we pay him respect for delivering his part," Czulkang said.

"Of course father, it always is safe to do that anyway," Tsavong agreed. Then he asked when the ceremony where he would be declared Head Warmaster would begin. "I already had it scheduled to occur on your thirty-seventh birthday which is two days from now. We'll be landing on Zonama Sekot the next day and all revolutionaries will be sure to escape to its jungles," Czulkang answered.

"You hope to escape with Arden and Depa to help them get home, don't you?" Tsavong guessed. "Yes, I intend to do that if at all possible," Czulkang admitted. "The great Czulkang Lah, disguised as a Shamed One. But someone will have to charge you for the treasonous act and bring credible evidence that you are guilty of it before the people buy into it," Tsavong observed aloud.

"You've learned well, my son. Evidence never lies but people do however, I have someone on the job of forging evidence of treason on my part to make it more believable," Czulkang affirmed. "So it's settled then: you'll go under the guise of a Shamed One to assist the human women. Then, regardless of the outcome of the revolution, you'll do what you can to get them home," Tsavong said.

"Yes and be sure to have a transport ready for my escape as well, I'm thinking about having them go on one of the rescuing parties Thrawn might send but I'll be stuck in the process. Unless, of course, you were willing to leave a gunship I can pilot back home or anything like that," Czulkang said. "I will see if I can do that during the course of the revolution but I make no promises: it could be weeks before I could find you transportation of any kind," Tsavong warned. "Good enough for me," Czulkang replied.

"Same place as usual for the landing of our city in Zonama?" Tsavong asked after a moment of silence. "Yes, we'll be having the Festival in that very same area, beings of all sorts will be invited to see. But if Quoreal is planning his revolution around that time, it could mean trouble for the other natives," Czulkang answered. "I will do my best to keep you updated on what is going on in this side of the fighting as well but that's another one I can't guarantee," Tsavong stated.

"That won't be necessary, Quoreal and Nom Anor should have spies arranged to do that for you by then. Do not worry, I will do what I can to adjust to the circumstances I'm in whilst with the Revolution," Czulkang said. "I'm not worried about your adaptability father, I'm worried about theirs," Tsavong stated. "I shall do what I can to ease their travel through the worst of the storm that is sure to come, don't worry about that either," Czulkang ordered his son.

_He is strong-willed for an old, wizened man. Most this age would have quit while they were ahead but I guess he isn't ahead yet which is why he isn't most men_ Tsavong thought. The thought put a smile on his face that his father wouldn't notice but it was a smile for him nevertheless. Perhaps, his father was where he had gotten his own strong will and his determination to prevail at any costs.

Though not the ultimate end of a Warmaster, a strong will was the first step in the path to become a skilled member of the caste. He just hoped that when he finally received his promotion, he could fill in his father's shoes whilst still having a little glory to spare for himself; that would be satisfying.


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Chapter Twelve**

The floating city of Shimrra's Glory was moving closer and closer to Zonama Sekot and its landing point below the atmosphere, each day bringing Thrawn more anxiety. True that this festival they came to celebrate was one that he had seen before and one he enjoyed very much. But still, something told him that things were going to take a dark turn once the city touched down on Zonama Sekot. Despite his constant reassurance via keeping Arden Lyn's portrait clean and undamaged, the artistry still possessing his appreciation despite recent additions to his collection of cultural art.

Those didn't have the same joy and passion that he had seen in Arden's painting and as if that wasn't good enough, he had come to appreciate that each artwork he collected came with a code. The fact that he had not been able to crack the code Arden imprinted into this paint said something about his joy. It also said something about how the true meaning, even with what he had already discovered, still eluded him. Was it a memo for her to not use the Talisman too much or else suffer Xendor's fate?

Could it be something that he had indirectly told her to write in when he told her to paint a certain stroke on the pink background or another on the Jedi corpses at the bottom of the portrait? He had yet to understand the culture that she had lived under and needed her firsthand experience in this. Perhaps, something she might say to him would clue him in on what to do when deciphering the code of the painting that he had only obtained portions of. But he also began to wonder if he was meant to decipher the whole thing even with Arden's help via hints and clues.

Was this supposed to be the one problem that his calculating, unstoppable mind would not be able to solve? If so, it would be the greatest irony of his life: he could decode other works of art as well as any and all messages they came with except for this. In fact, he breached that once you understood a culture, you understood the enemy you would be facing and how they fought. But if he couldn't understand this, how could he expect to be prepared for her fighting him if she returned and chose to?

Sure that he was trying his best to find her and rescue her in order to restore the alliance they had but it had been fifteen long years since he had begun. What if she thought that he had forsaken her now and hated him with the dark, fiery passion she hated the Jedi for the death of her husband? Arden Lyn was always the woman with few friends and plenty of enemies. Perhaps, it was her destiny to always stand alone in the end... or was it?

**Smug in his victory of** having used Quoreal to disgrace Shimrra in single combat, Nom Anor now had some political leverage with which to win some Elite fervor for the revolution that was to come. "Friends of old, strangers from new parts, you have been summoned here to answer a growing threat. Shimrra's predecessor Quoreal, it seems, has been revived and intends to take revenge," he explained. "But Quoreal was killed in single combat by Overlord Shimrra nearly thirty years ago, how could it be possible for him to return now!?" a traditionalist named Goliath demanded.

"Shimrra is devious and deceptive, perhaps he was under the influence of the Deception Goddess?" Nom Anor suggested. "How dare you suggest that of a Supreme Overlord!" Goliath exclaimed. "Why not? It has happened before has it not?" Nom inquired.

"He makes an excellent point: Supreme Overlords have been manipulated into serving the Goddess of Deception and in turn, have almost led our people to ruin. If Quoreal has survived the duel, it is proof of one of two things: either Shimrra won through cheating or Quoreal went easy on him," another traditionalist named Judas interjected. "But why would Quoreal hand over rulership of our people to a lowly man like Shimrra and his even lowlier jester Onimi?" Goliath asked. "Perhaps it was to go on a mission to find the salvation of our people and Shimrra filled the vacant seat," Nom replied.

_Fools, they do not realize the truth as I do but no matter. The longer they remain blind the more I can build up momentum for the revolution_ Nom told himself silently. "I would assume that would be right: Shimrra has always been less honest a man than his predecessor. The Domain of my father and his father shall assist Quoreal in his restoration to the throne," Judas stated.

Seventeen more Domains of the Elite, which also commanded several Warmaster domains and several thousand soldiers each, followed the ancient Judas' example. Even Goliath submitted to the fervor that Judas and Nom Anor were stirring in the chamber of the Elite. "Then I propose this deal for Shimrra: if he overcomes Quoreal this time, we shall return under his fold without quarrel. That is assuming we're all still alive by then however, our descendants shall remember this deal," Nom began.

"And if Shimrra fails?" Goliath asked. "Then we lop off his head and reinstate Quoreal, of course. And those who do not return fealty to Quoreal will also have their heads lopped off and crushed by those who become or remain loyal," Nom answered. "Either way, we have no more massive a stake in this than our lives... I like this little game that you wish to play already," Goliath stated.

"You flatter me sir, is there any other who wishes to send their Domains to the cause of reinstating Quoreal? It is already clear that Shimrra has deceived us somehow on the details of what happened in that duel," Nom asked the rest of the Elite in the chamber. "We shall stand by him to the end!" shouted an anonymous Elite who rallied the others surrounding him. In fact, the whole northern part of their chamber was against joining the return of Quoreal to power but Nom supposed it was fine.

_Regardless of who wins, many in here will be dead before the end of the fight_ Nom told himself sinisterly. "Before we get into a massive debate, let us all put it into a vote. All in favor of joining Quoreal's revolution, say aye and those who are against say nay," he suggested aloud. Of the forty-two Elite members that there were, the vote actually ended up being 21-21, perfectly even including his clan.

The more the merrier but Nom was content and said that those who were in favor would meet Quoreal outside the city once it landed on Zonama and prepare for war. To his surprise, of all the Domains that were against Shimrra's deposition, Domain Lah was the most powerful. On top of that, he was also surprised to see that Tsavong was now leading it instead of his father. Nom wondered what that could mean but decided not to worry about it just yet for Czulkang remained no threat.

After all, why worry about someone who was not a threat to your plans unless they were setting up to be. For all their sakes, he was hoping that Czulkang was not wishing to be the threat that could undo his operations but he could never be sure. He watched Tsavong carefully, seeing if anything he said or did would indicate a plan but to his surprise, the boy gave nothing away. _Truly, he is becoming more like his father every day that I see him_ Nom thought but didn't say before leaving the chamber.

**"Where are my major** targets?" Quoreal asked. "Your best ones to hit on the city would be the Citadel, the power plant, and the armory. On top of that, you would have to hit it in precisely that order," Czulkang answered. "I will have spies do that job, perhaps some fanatic kamikazes eager to prove themselves to me to the point of death," Quoreal stated.

"That might be your best bet but I wouldn't place all my hopes in that if I were you. By now, Nom Anor has made your existence known to the Elite and there are those who'd defy you. Though my Domain is an ally of ours, I have ordered my son to have it side with Shimrra," Czulkang replied. "And why is that, old friend?" Quoreal inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"We could use some ears on the inside that are non-military in nature, could we not? In order to best fight against them, we need to know what their patterns will be. Will they adhere to the tradition of the Revival of our people or will they seek to destroy us before having the festival?" Czulkang said. "You always were one step ahead of our enemies in the wars that we fought together," Quoreal said with a smile.

"I am just doing what I can to help a friend, besides, my son needs to learn how to accept the reality of any enemy he faces in his career. Some will be as personal as his own family and others will be too far distant for him to notice or care if he did," Czulkang replied. "A good trial, I must admit, it's sad that no other Warmaster Domain does it anymore. I wonder why yours, of all of them, would be the one to stick to that ancient tradition?" Quoreal asked.

"We are an ancient family, we only change enough to adapt but we still attempt to cling to our old traditions wherever and whenever possible. It's part of how we have managed to outlive many Domains and see the rise of new ones though they too would fall soon enough," Czulkang answered. "Then perhaps you won't mind eliminating a certain factor from the equation or at least, attempting to," Quoreal said.

"Nom Anor?" Czulkang guessed. When Quoreal nodded in his reply, Czulkang was initially puzzled but he could see why he wanted him out. If allowed to live long enough, Nom would become a threat to their design with only his own benefit being his sight the whole time. "I have a better idea in mind than elimination: a challenge of sorts that Nom would be more than willing to accept," Czulkang said.

"And what would that be?" Quoreal inquired. Czulkang turned the video imagery before them to a viewer that had eyes on Arden Lyn and her apprentice Depa. "Nom Anor has an unusual interest in those two humans though why he has it, I can't imagine. When I challenge him to single combat, the stakes will be that if he wins, they remain here but if he loses then I have the power to let them go," Czulkang explained.

"Interesting contest but if he values his honor, he will not deny you," Quoreal observed. "Yes and despite his combat experience, he is unlikely to match a Warmaster. Unless someone had been giving him illegal training before he seized power from his father and took over the Anor Domain," Czulkang agreed. "Go ahead then and add his defection to Shimrra's side as a stake in the duel while you're at it as well as your defection if you lose," Quoreal ordered.

Czulkang hesitated, not necessarily sure if that was wise but he supposed he had to keep things even and interesting. The duel with Nom Anor would have to be like that in order for their to be any honor in it from Czulkang's end. Besides, if he lost, he would be reunited with his son and Quoreal would then have the power to release or trap the human women. But Czulkang Lah was not about to let their door back home close on them without a fight: he would honor the truce at all costs.

"Didn't your son already disown you in the public or does that still need to be done?" Quoreal asked suddenly. "Still needs to be done but we're on top of that, the duel will take place afterwards. That way it looks like I'm trying to redeem myself in my son's eyes," Czulkang answered. Quoreal's smile was all the old man needed to know his satisfaction.

**"The revolution is forming** at last, dissent is in the air, and Shimrra feels the heat of the pressure to defeat his old enemy forevermore. It is almost time for us to make ourselves known but perhaps we could use the religious fervor to our advantage," Depa stated. "And prove ourselves no better than Nom Anor or Quoreal?" Arden asked. Depa had no reply for that, how could she when she realized the bitterness of her own words after hearing that remark?

"No Depa, we will not manipulate the psychology of the religious fanatics anymore than our allies already have. If we did that, then Shimrra and Onimi would know where we were and seek to destroy us. We would lose the element of surprise and fulfilling our part in Onimi's destruction would be next to impossible. As Xendor taught me, it is sometimes better to catch your enemy unprepared and unawares than to reveal your part in the formation of an army, assuming you aren't the leader," Arden added.

_As it is, we are technically the true face of this revolution and Quoreal is our puppet anyway. Nom Anor is the dangerous loose end that I worry about however_ Arden thought. "Then will we be ready to strike against Onimi soon?" Depa asked. Arden nodded and said that it was a matter of letting the revolution stall his forces before returning to the city and attacking.

"I will have the Talisman conceal our presence in the Force so that Onimi cannot see us that way. Via Vongsense, he may mistaken us for two more citizens of his Overlord's vast empire and that's an advantage we can very easily exploit," Arden stated. "But what if the Vongsense does not mistaken us for Yuuzhan Vong and identifies us as humans?" Depa asked. "Then we just have to hope that he doesn't have something that can help him defeating him," Arden answered.

"That's the best that the great Arden Lyn can conjure?" Depa demanded. "It's not great but it's better than nothing," Arden admitted. "Maybe you're right but once we're home, then what? Do we find Thrawn and make him pay for abandoning us?" Depa inquired.

"No, he didn't have a choice in that and I'm pretty sure he couldn't expend a lot to searching for us without the scrutiny of our Supreme Overlord here. Besides, Thrawn never works outside his own bounds unless he absolutely has to and expending a great deal to find us would've done that. He didn't betray us but there wasn't a lot that he could do to help us out anyway," Arden explained. "So dense yet so certain that you can trust him, he reeked of deception from day one!" Depa exclaimed.

"Maybe so but what choice did we have at the time we joined him? Who would have accepted us as freely and openly as he did? Surely not the man called Darth Sidious that you mentioned as one who destroys anyone that interfere with his plans, even if they're just fallen Jedi. Would you rather have taken your chances with him?" Arden snapped.

"No but we could have helped Maul and Savage a little more than we did. We were mostly here, helping Thrawn play his game with the Yuuzhan Vong!" Depa shouted. "By doing that, we did help Maul out because we prevented these people from becoming a factor that ruined his plans. Sidious did that for them when he went to Mandalore to destroy Maul as I'm sure he did," Arden calmly said.

Depa, you are beginning to push me and remember that I don't need the Talisman to defeat you Arden warned mentally. "With a little more active a role on our part, Maul and Savage could have overcome Sidious and taken the galaxy. Instead, we had to go wandering into territories that we didn't know and get ourselves into this. We're in over our heads and going home means going to a place that might not welcome the likes of us anymore than it did fifteen years ago," Depa warned aloud.

"Maybe so but it's the only chance we have at any solace from our past sins," Arden said. "How do you know?" Depa asked. "I awoke to find that twenty-five thousand years had gone by—all I knew and all I loved curdled into history then dismissed as myth. Not even dust remains of those who were dear to me.

"I have outlived planets, and the very constellations are scrambled and strange. I am alone in a way you could never imagine. Despite that, I am human Depa, I have to hope that there is some path to forgiveness for what I did and redemption from what I've become. The galaxy from whence we came is the only place where I feel like there is hope to finding that way, the only place that has the knowledge," Arden explained pleadingly. "You've grown soft in your ways since you've arrived here, Arden Lyn," Depa stated.

"What does that mean?" Arden demanded. "It means that it's no wonder why you were only the prototype for what would develop into the Dark Side. That it's time for me to take the crown of Mistress from you and help these people without regard to going back there. I already feel more at home amongst these freaks and monsters than I ever did over there," Depa replied.

"We are not Sith, Depa! You don't have to attack me and besides, you would die before your stroke fell anyway," Arden begged. "Let's see about that," Depa said as she ignited her lightsaber and Arden unsheathed some of her sword in warning. "Without me, you would still have been in a fucking coma unaware and uncaring of who came to carve up your body into pieces!" Arden screamed.

At first, Arden thought that saying that provoked her apprentice into attack but instead, something else happened. Depa seemed to actually hesitate, to remember what her Mistress had done for her and wonder what she was doing with her lightsaber pointed at her. "It's all right Depa, I understand why you feel this way. I tried rebelling against Xendor in a similar manner towards the end of his life and the life of the Legions," Arden said.

"What was the result of those rebellions?" Depa asked. "Since most of them were in the marriage bed, it ended with him taking me like some animal in rut. He'd regret it later but sometimes I wonder if he did that because he was possessed by this cursed artifact around my neck," Arden answered, gesturing to the Talisman as she spoke. "It was the price he paid for using its power as much as he did," Depa said, the statement not being a question this time.

Arden nodded and she began to wonder, if the Talisman was ultimately the thing responsible for all her misery. In the back of her mind, she was beginning to consider ways to eliminate it from the equation. All the while, she was unaware that the Intendant known as Nom Anor had his eyes on it as though it were some common jewel. Looking at the prism-shaped artifact that had saved her and then tried to possess her too, she began to wonder if things would improve without it around.

**The floating city of** the Yuuzhan Vong had landed on Zonama Sekot at last and the festival would take place in another week after that. But what he wondered was if this would be his best chance to find Arden Lyn and Depa Billaba and reconcile with them. He wondered if fifteen years of fruitless search and countless ships being accidentally destroyed, it was finally about to pay off. True that he was partly worried due to Sidious expressing an interest in their power but that was far from the main point.

He didn't fear Lord Sidious nearly as much as he feared what Arden and Depa could do if they remained rogue. They could destroy both Thrawn's personal empire and the Empire he sought to take from Palpatine's control. "Captain will everything be ready in time for our travel to the festival on Zonama Sekot?" Thrawn asked. "Yes sir, the arrangements that you have ordered should be no problem in making," his Captain answered.

_Good, at least my troops and their officials have not grown lazy in the absence of battle unlike some members of the Council that I wish to eliminate. I think Moses is worse without his goiter than he is with it hanging from his neck_ Thrawn thought but didn't say. The thought provoked a smile at the irony of it: five years ago, Moses had ordered his goiter surgically removed. His reasoning was that it made him too unattractive but who would love a grotesquely fat man like him anyhow?

Thrawn's sister, Moses' reluctant wife, certainly didn't nor did any in Thrawn's family for that matter. Actually, Moses was the reject of even his own family and he knew it all too well thanks to their lack of acceptance of his party invitations. And as Thrawn observed, one had to wonder if that was because of his gluttonous, greedy nature or just that he was fat in general. It wasn't normal for a Chiss to fall so far and perhaps that's what made Moses stand out from the rest of the crowd.

But now, it was time to be rid of him and Thrawn knew that his sister would help in that. She had, after all, grown to hate his advances as well as his taking of other women in front of her.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Chapter Thirteen**

"As Head Warmaster of Domain Lah, I hereby resign my title and pass it onto my son, Tsavong Lah," Czulkang declared to the audience watching. Tsavong accepted the applause and he knew what to do from here. "Thank you father, your willingness to bestow the title is kind but I must say that due to treasonous actions in years past, my first act must be to banish you from our great city. You shall be dubbed a Shamed One until such time as you bring one of the revolutionaries with Quoreal back to us.

"I am sorry father but that is the way of things, now," Tsavong replied when he had command of the podium. Murmurs went through the crowd, many unbelieving that the great Czulkang would commit treason for any reason. He hadn't but that was not for these foolish civilians caught in the middle of the war to know. _With good luck and a couple gods on our side, their stupidity will remain that way until either the revolution has fallen or overthrown Shimrra_ Tsavong thought but didn't say aloud.

_My son learns more about how to be a Warmaster every minute. Soon there will be nothing left that I can teach him and he will be far more worthy of the title than he is already. Perhaps, I made the right choice in taking his mother for a wife, he definitely has her determination and good will toward others_ Czulkang thought with a smile. Tsavong's mother had definitely been a good woman, good enough to sadden him when she died giving birth to him.

But perhaps it was worthier that she had died giving birth to a man who might possibly have been his greatest achievement than to live and see a greater shame. Besides that, mothers who died giving birth were martyrs to the families anyway unless the child was either a woman or a girly man. Nonetheless, he had obtained an amphistaff for his travels and knew that he needed Nom Anor to lose the duel in order to be able to return to his son's side. This would prove to also be Tsavong's first great test as the Head Warmaster of Domain Lah and the one that proved him to be a great leader.

Smiling, it was all working as he had planned it out to be and personally, he was glad that his son had this chance to prove himself. It was more than he got before he was forced to kill his father in single combat for his own initiation process. More peaceful and more strategy-oriented than it was on raw skill and power as it used to be, a few centuries before. An improvement, Czulkang would say and perhaps, Nom Anor might have said it too.

**"Tsavong's first act as** Head Warmaster is to banish his own father for 'treasonous actions' in years past. Can't say that this is characteristic of the Lah Domain unless they're planning something they don't want us to know about," Onimi stated. "Indeed, perhaps it might be time for you to do some of your own investigation?" Shimrra asked. "No, I don't think Czulkang would let me anywhere near him in order to find out what his endgame is but I know one thing about already," Onimi answered.

When Shimrra asked him to tell him, that was precisely what Onimi did. "If anyone is the mastermind of their little plan, I highly doubt it's Tsavong. His father has come up with cunning infiltration plans for this sort of thing before, each one succeeding rather brilliantly," Onimi explained. "You would know this, how?" Shimrra inquired.

"Who but Czulkang Lah single-handedly infiltrated the Bandits of the Great Scourge and undid them from within? And who but the great Czulkang Lah disguised himself as a beggar to overthrow the Supreme Overlord often called The Impaler after twenty years of servitude?" Onimi suggested. "Wait a minute, you're saying that the Czulkang we know is the same one? But the Bandits were destroyed two-hundred and twenty years ago and The Impaler died eighty years ago," Shimrra replied.

"And that's where Czulkang's age comes into factor: he's nearly five hundred years old," Onimi said. "Five... hundred? That's pretty old even by the standards of our people, no wonder why he wanted to hand the title of Head Warmaster to his son," Shimrra observed. "Yes and from appearances, Czulkang may live another few decades yet under the assumption he isn't killed here," Onimi agreed.

"Better to assume he's immortal than ever hope that he could be killed in this revolution," Shimrra stated grimly. "Do not despair milord, even the best of us must fall sometime, I think Czulkang might finally hit it with this revolution," Onimi replied reassuringly. "What has you so confident?" Shimrra asked. "Nom Anor is at least a hundred years younger and healthier than old Czulkang Lah, if Czulkang is doing this to get at him then he's in for some trouble even if he does win," Onimi answered, smiling.

**Nom Anor had to** admit that he was a little surprised that Czulkang would hand leadership of Domain Lah to Tsavong so suddenly after the revolution began. In fact, he was wishing to know why Czulkang did that and asked his son to keep his loyalties with Shimrra. With Tsavong, there could have been great opportunity to gain a loyal ally and Nom definitely did have use for the boy's talents. But now, he had to contend with the old fool who had ruined it all for him.

_And here I was hoping Czulkang would be a loyal ally but I have to admit I have to wonder what I have done in forcing Arden into reviving Quoreal. Could there have been another way by which I could have persuaded her to do it for me?_ he asked himself angrily. Looking back on his intentions when he persuaded her, they seemed pretty admirable even by the standards of an Elite. But sadly, Quoreal's mind must have been shattered too long because now, here he was with a bloodthirst unlike any that Nom Anor had seen in even the most insane Warmaster of any time.

Just then, his doors flew open from a hit by someone's fist and Nom Anor turned to see Czulkang with an amphistaff in hand. "So, you've come to kill me for supposed treachery against our people? Do you not see that in more ways than not, I save us from ourselves with what I do?" Nom asked. "No, I do not come to kill you: I have come with a challenge you cannot refuse, a duel but not to the death," Czulkang answered.

"The stakes?" Nom Anor inquired, knowing Czulkang wasn't doing this without reasons. "If I win, you defect back into Shimrra's fold and surrender all your power and influence here to me. This includes but isn't limited to the ability to dismiss or keep Arden Lyn and her apprentice here," Czulkang explained. "And if I win?" Nom requested.

"Then I defect back into Shimrra's fold and you can do as you wish with the women. I had my son exile me just so I could try to rescue them from you and Quoreal," Czulkang stated firmly. "It seems as though it always comes back to those two in the end. No matter where are trails lead us in this revolution, it always seems that in the end, those two are always in the eye of our storm," Nom said.

"Yes, especially Arden, now are we going to fight or will you forever shame your family name?" Czulkang demanded. "My family already shamed me to the point where I exterminated them from the face of the universe. I can refuse your offer if I wish but I find it admirable so I will be taking on your challenge today," Nom said. Then he conjured an amphistaff of his own and asked Czulkang if this was how he intended for them to fight each other in their duel, to which Czulkang nodded in reply.

"So be it then, it looks as though our alliance is at an end either way. But either way, I have already won and I was about to dispose of you and your son anyway," Nom stated. "We'll see who's disposing of who when this is over," Czulkang snapped. "Indeed we shall," Nom stated with a smile.

Czulkang stood in an offensive position, his amphistaff hardened to be used as a sword for the duel but it was Nom Anor who made the first move. Exploiting the "Way of the Diplomat" for his fighting, Nom surprised his older opponent with a series of stabs, parries, and upward hacks. He also made several downward slashes with his amphistaff, testing Czulkang's defenses for weaknesses. However, Czulkang's usage of the "Way of the Warrior" was more than capable of being on par with Nom Anor's own skills.

Every now and then, Czulkang exploited the environment for acrobatic feats Nom had feared his age would prohibit him from using. If anything, it seemed as his age added to his ability seeing as he had decades to learn many of these feats that he now used beautifully and perfectly. But Nom's own spinning and twirling of his staff meant that he could keep up with Czulkang's acrobatics even if barely. However, even so, Nom began to enjoy himself to the point of laughter and Czulkang didn't need to ask what was so funny.

He already knew what the younger man had perceived as being funny to be something that was very true. Even if Nom Anor lost this duel and all the powers he had in the revolution, he had still fulfilled the purpose he had designed for Arden Lyn and Depa Billaba. True that they still needed to eliminate Onimi as best they could but that was rather optional and by no means necessary for ultimate conquest. It helped but it was hardly the sort of thing that would threaten their victory any more than the soldiers that Shimrra was sure to send their way for their rebellion against him.

_He may have won the war but he will lose the battle if I put my all into winning this duel_ Czulkang vowed to himself silently. _You might win this duel Czulkang but I still have an ace or two up my sleeve that have yet to be withdrawn from their resting area_ Nom thought enthusiastically. A further exchange of blows and a heightening of adrenaline made Nom enlightened to his enemy's intent. "Wait, I've seen this sort of thing associated with you before, Czulkang!" he exclaimed.

"And what would you be talking about?" Czulkang asked, chuckling that Nom might have gotten something. "You are dueling with me for these stakes so that you can infiltrate the revolution through natural means and help it be destroyed! It's no wonder why your son cast you out: it was all meant to be a coverup for your next infiltration plan like with the Bandits and The Impaler," Nom said. "Oh my dear Intendant, you are spot on but I also did this to save Arden Lyn and her apprentice from your clutches as well and honor the truce with Admiral Thrawn as a result," Czulkang admitted.

"So you still wish to honor a fifteen-year-old truce because you still feel as though it has merit!" Nom shouted. "It does, because you see, we still have twenty-five years left to go before it's over," Czulkang reminded. "You will pay for having ever made a pact with an Infidel commander!" Nom vowed loudly. He gave into the full power of the "Way of the Diplomat" at that point which initially surprised Czulkang and forced him to give away some ground.

But he came back hard with the full strength of his own form, not only recovering the ground he had lost before but also gaining more than Nom could afford to lose to him. So enraged by this was he that Nom just began to lose form and begin randomly throwing sequences of his fighting style at Czulkang. The Warmaster knew he was winning and it was now only a matter of time before he would be able to finish the duel and defeat his enemy. Just then, the Intendant surprised Czulkang with something he hadn't expected to see on him: a plasma eel.

Nom immediately took out the weapon and fired several bolts of plasma at his enemy, forcing Czulkang to sidestep and give away several steps of ground to the Intendant. For added pressure, Nom Anor also took his amphistaff and had it fire its own green laser at the old Warmaster. This was countered, by the beam from Czulkang's own amphistaff, which neutralized Nom's. "Ah but I still have the eel at my command for these kinds of shots," Nom said when he noticed this happening.

Czulkang fired the laser from his amphistaff at the eel itself and watched as it blasted its way through the creatures head and killed it. The result was the Plasma Eel withering away and forcing Nom to return to his reliance on the amphistaff or so Czulkang believed. How many more weapons can he have that will turn this fight from an honorable duel to a mindless brawl? Czulkang asked himself. However, it didn't seem as though Nom did have anything else that could be used against his enemy and simply returned to the duel they had before.

But a Thud Bug Launcher that Nom pulled from the back of his belt changed all that and Czulkang was forced to dodge yet more projectiles being thrown at him. However, he was adamant to destroying the thud bugs themselves with the laser from his amphistaff, something he succeeded in. But not before one of them hit him in the right eye and knocked out the sight in that part of his face. Growling under his breath, he silently vowed that he would enjoy beating the hell out of Nom Anor before letting him go at the first squeal for mercy.

Giving into the strength of the warrior that he was, Czulkang finished off the bugs and returned to the main event of the duel: amphistaff combat. The older Yuuzhan Vong maintained his calm vigil as per the "Way of the Warrior", the patience prevailing over Nom's impulsive performance. True that Nom was very efficient with the "Way of the Diplomat" and stronger as a result of being younger. However, like most youngsters that Czulkang had been forced to put down in his time, he was all too prone to getting impatient when an outcome wasn't going his way.

Granted, Czulkang had faced down worse than his dirty tricks with the Bandits and The Impaler but it did still throw him off every now and then. "You fool, this was supposed to be my glorious day! I will not let you cheat me out of it!" Nom exclaimed. "Then for once, we disagree on something that doesn't have to do with the traditions of our people," Czulkang replied with a smile and a wink.

Nom commanded his amphistaff to wrap itself around Czulkang's but the older warrior replied by having his do the same. From there, it turned into a tug of war that Nom wanted to use to play on Czulkang's age combined with the fact that it gave him a slightly duller edge on strength and power. However, despite the fact that he did end up gaining the edge and tugging Czulkang towards him, he had not counted on what the old man did next. Instead of falling forward as anticipated, Czulkang leaned backwards and extended his feet out first to make contact with Nom's chest and neck.

The blow was so severe that Nom was sent off his feet and he had to let go of his weapon as Czulkang did the same to let the snakes wrestle for a little bit. His won the match and Nom's amphistaff died from the venom inflicted by the bite of Czulkang's within a matter of seconds. It was then that Czulkang proceeded to conduct hand-to-hand combat, punching, kicking, and elbowing Nom Anor. The younger Intendant managed to get a few solid hits in at the chest and other unimportant areas but the hits Czulkang made toward him took their toll, especially a kick to the chin and an elbow to the eye.

But the hit that really began to do him in was a punch Czulkang made at the area that encased his liver and lower ribcage. It knocked the breath out of Nom Anor and just in time for Czulkang's amphistaff to return to its master's hand. At that point, Czulkang mentally commanded it to coil around Nom's neck when he had recovered his breath. Then grabbing his weapon by each end, Czulkang proceeded to strangle the Intendant that had fought him rather dirtily.

"Do you surrender, Intendant Nom Anor or must I make you suffer before you see reason?" Czulkang demanded. Using the full strength of his muscles, he made sure that Nom knew he meant to kill him if he hadn't surrendered by patting Czulkang's breastplate twice. Czulkang uncoiled his weapon and put it aside as he let the Intendant recover his breath from what had been done to him. "It's all yours: my power in the revolution, my sphere of influence, and even dismissal powers over Arden," he said.

"Good, now get on your way before I change my mind about sparing your life!" Czulkang hissed. Truly, he had found Nom Anor's overall performance quite good but the times that he had pulled out a Plasma Eel and a Thud Bug launcher with projectiles for it were unforgivable. "But there is a price to pay for my handing you the power to command the dismissal of the humans," Nom warned. "And what would that be?" Czulkang asked angrily.

"They must eliminate Onimi from the equation or at least distract him while Shimrra faces Quoreal. That way even if Quoreal loses again, it will still be a fair fight to the death rather than Shimrra having Onimi to amplify his abilities in combat to supernatural levels," Nom answered calmly. "I will see that they do that but I make no promises on Onimi's death," Czulkang stated. "So much desire to free them and you are not confident in what they can do by themselves, never mind as a team?" Nom mocked.

"Go little man before I beat you around some more," Czulkang ordered. "You are old Czulkang, too old to still be living. Someday, you will face a battle you cannot win and when that happens, I will be laughing when news of your death is brought to my attention," Nom told him. "No living thing is too old to live so long as destiny has a reason for that thing to keep on living.

"If I am to die tomorrow or when the truce is dissolved is inconsequential to me. My only fear is that my son may not live long enough to serve his people as I have served them without hesitation. But most importantly, I fear that as a result he may not be able to honor our family as a true Warmaster. Now go or suffer the consequences of further delay," Czulkang replied.

That is your mistake Czulkang, caring only for the interests of our people. I seek higher prizes than that and I intend to gain them with time Nom thought but didn't say. He rubbed his stomach since it had had a convulsion when Czulkang hit him in the liver and lower ribcage area while walking. It was the least he could do to keep from throwing up and further hindering his ability to stand, let alone walk and leave the revolution he had helped create. He had lost his first duel ever and he was amazed that Czulkang had let him live to tell the tale but he remembered an important code.

According to a Warmaster, it was sometimes better to let something live to fight another day than it was to kill it right away. He had a feeling he would be having more run-ins with the Domain Lah and none of them good from here on out. But that didn't frighten him nearly as much as the prospect of losing his ability to experiment on Arden Lyn and her apprentice, finding answers to his questions. It was ultimately another dead end that would bother him for a long time to come after this duel was over.

**"It's almost time, Depa.** Pretty soon we'll be home and Onimi will have been defeated by then and that's assuming we still have to fight him," Arden said. "Why do I get the feeling that Nom Anor has seen to it that that ends up being what we have to do?" Depa asked. "Probably because that's how that sneaky little bastard has set up his little plans," Arden answered with a laugh.

"Most likely but what I have to wonder is if he is expecting us to show up. I knocked Vergere into a coma and if his attack against us was any indication, they were close in their time together," Depa suggested. "Like I said before, we'll have to do as best we can once we start fighting him much as I hate saying that," Arden replied. _I absolutely hate it when I have to say that to Depa considering her constant desire for some sort of cunning plan_ Arden thought to herself.

_My understanding of your code was that you weren't Sith. According to the Codex of the Jedi, only Sith deal in absolutes_ the voice of the Talisman teased. _You're terrible at jokes Kashi Mer, even if you do give unlimited power to those who wield you_ Arden replied telepathically. Once again, the artifact went silent at that comment and Arden wondered if it was for the better that it did.

More and more, it seemed like that was the case, especially now that it had failed to possess her as it had possessed Xendor when he was alive. The more it tried to soften her resolve, the more the attempt backfired on it and the more it had to remain silent until she used its power and it felt good too.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Chapter Fourteen**

The time of war was near and the foe wasn't Thrawn or any from outside the galaxy again. Rather, it was a massive revolution that had occurred as a result of the revival of religious fervency thanks to the resurrection of fallen Supreme Overlord Quoreal. Shimrra had been injured during the confrontation with it and Onimi had just finished tending to his wounds. Now, with the Scepter of Power in his hand, Shimrra had vowed to the public that this resistance would be crushed forevermore.

In fact, Onimi had persuaded him to challenge Quoreal to single combat and the winner would determine the fate of the Yuuzhan Vong. What the Supreme Overlord didn't realize was that this played right into the hands of the rebels and helped Onimi more than anyone. By fighting Quoreal, Shimrra had set the stage for the completion of Onimi's ascendance to the throne room. In fact, he foresaw the fulfillment of a foolproof plan that only humans could mess up for him.

Unfortunately, not too long before persuading Shimrra to issue the challenge, Onimi was called telepathically to a challenge of his own by a woman introducing herself as Arden Lyn. She had stated that she was human and that her apprentice was the one responsible for what happened to Vergere. _If you wish to avenge her, you will meet us on Czulkang's personal cruiser after he's left. He'll be fighting with the revolution and we will be alone there, you'll know us when you see us_ she added.

He had to admit that they were probably right about that, how could he miss human women floating about Yuuzhan Vong space even if they were far from an army? Nonetheless, he wondered if this revolution had allied with human powers in the galaxy that he had hoped to rule. There was no way they could gather as much power as they had had without some external help of sorts. _Unless someone from within sparked the revolution through the Elite which would be a clever trick_ he thought.

Smiling, the thought of someone within the Yuuzhan Vong starting the revolution would be the most clever feat of cunning that he had ever seen. However, he had a trick of his own up his sleeve: the portal still fed him power whenever he went near it. Granted, it did extract a price on his soul but he began to wonder if he really cared about paying that price so long as he had eternal power. At this point, ensuring immortality and then taking over the Yuuzhan Vong was all that mattered to him now.

"Oh mighty gods of our people, track me the most massive surge of power that you can possibly give without killing me. A greater threat than any our people has faced is on the horizon and I must have the power to stop it from destroying us all!" Onimi exclaimed. _Be warned, to track this surge of power into you even for the good of your people means paying the ultimate price_ the voice of the portal stated. "You know I am more than willing to pay that price just as much as anyone else that might possess your greatness," Onimi said before plunging his hands into the wall of the portal.

As usual, he felt the slow, melodramatic ebbing of power flowing into his hands but soon, he felt the usual mounting pace of the power's insertion into his body. Like several snakes slithering into openings in his skin, he felt it strengthen him in ways that he had never felt before. The pain that came with it was overwhelming but he bit down on his lip so that he didn't scream in agony. But when it was over, he felt more powerful than he had ever been before in his life, even whilst under Vergere.

"Thank you gods, I will be sure to repay you in any way I can when this is over," Onimi vowed. _Bring me the heads of those who threaten your people when you have destroyed them to prove that what we have given you has not been in vain_ the voice stated. "I shall do such a thing the moment I can," Onimi stated with a bow. With that exchange taken care of, he walked away from the portal, confident that he could now defeat whoever it was that had just challenged him.

**"So you let Nom Anor** leave on condition that we kill Onimi or at least stall him until the outcome of the duel between Quoreal and Shimrra is decided. Can't say that I was liking our chances of escaping without a price anyway," Arden said. "Don't despair Arden Lyn, Onimi is a coward unless he's cornered: you might not even get the best that he can do thrown at you," Czulkang replied. "Yeah, count on the maybe to tell you how anxious I am for this to be over with," Depa sarcastically retorted.

"Depa, we shall do this and we shall do it without regard to the cost to ourselves. At least we can use the Dark Side in ways that the Sith never would or could," Arden said. Depa shrugged and yielded to the point that her Mistress had just made, not speaking again after that. Czulkang half-smiled, impressed that Arden could display such strength and yet maintain such innocence about her.

It was a wonder that Yuuzhan Vong women were not like that: either they were one or the other. Though the innocent personality was excellent for marital survival, the strength Arden radiated with was great enough to impress any Warmaster. It reminded him once more of his own wife, the mother of Tsavong, who had been very strong but still had a streak of innocence about her. But that was to be saved for another time, there was work to be done in the here and now where it belongs.

"Where do you recommend we meet Onimi on your cruiser? Would the bridge be the best space for the duel?" Arden asked. "That might be the best one as far as a straight-out duel is concerned," Czulkang answered, nodding. "Then the bridge of the cruiser, it is," Arden said with a smile. "Is that really wise, Mistress?" Depa asked.

Arden snarled, making sure to let her apprentice know that this wasn't going to be questioned. _The longer I let her remain a loose cannon, the more I get the feeling that I may have made a mistake in doing so_ Arden thought but didn't say. The Talisman counseled her, assuring her that she had not made a mistake by giving Depa the freedom that she had given her. _Besides, she is much more useful when she is free to do almost as she pleases than if she is confined_ it added into her mind.

Mentally, Arden shrugged and wondered if it had a point there and if she was a similar way when Xendor was leader of the Legions of Lettow. It had explained why she rebelled against him whenever he felt like he was trying to dominate her even if it was just in the bed. Thinking about the flaws of Xendor hurt her and she began to wonder if she was being too hard on her apprentice. After all, the chances that they would die in combat against Onimi were as good as the chances they wouldn't.

But as Depa and Arden walked to the bridge, Czulkang watched in wonder as to which of the women was the more mentally powerful. Was Arden with the experience of knowing that everything she loved wasn't even dust or Depa Billaba who still knew much that was alive? Only time and the will of the Gods would reveal the answer to the old Warmaster who also awaited his fate.

**Arriving at the grounded** city of the Yuuzhan Vong for the festival was the same for Thrawn as it had been every year. It was a celebration of the truce in the Void where the Chiss had gained the upper hand in the fight against the Yuuzhan Vong but chose to save them for cultural reasons. "This is the fifteenth anniversary of a great victory for the Chiss Ascendancy! Can one believe that the Yuuzhan Vong have maintained their alliance with us for this long?" he heard Moses shout gleefully.

"I can," Thrawn answered, reminding his brother-in-law that he was the one who made the truce with Warmaster Czulkang Lah. "Don't be ridiculous brother, just because you fought them the longest doesn't mean you know what a man's thinking beneath the skin of his forehead," Moses said. "Give him credit Moses, my dear, he had to calculate their psychology in order to calculate their next move. How else was he able to save our skins before we had to courage to save them ourselves?" Thrawn's sister, Meg, spoke up.

"Speak when spoken to, my little muffin. You are no longer under your brother's protection, you know," Moses hissed. Meg lowered her head in acceptance but Thrawn knew better: deep down, she wanted to slit this man's throat. _Who could blame her for wanting the old man dead almost as much as I do?_ Thrawn asked himself, smiling as he did so. "Let me consult my sister and cool her tongue," he suggested aloud.

Moses hesitated, reluctant to let Thrawn give her any ideas but that streak of brightness faded as quickly as it came. "And do a proper job of it, this time! Last time, she was a lot worse than when I sent her to you," he ordered. "Yes Master Moses," Thrawn stated with a bow.

_Fool, I deliberately sent her back that way as I will deliberately send her back to you with the means to kill you_ Thrawn thought. When he and his sister were far enough away from the sight of the grotesque monstrosity that was Moses, Thrawn unveiled his ultimate weapon. It was a set of fake fingernails whose tips were sharp enough to scratch. "Mitth'raw'nuruodo, there must be a reason for you delivering me another set of fake fingernails at this hour?" Meg asked.

"Yes my little Mitt'mega'nuruada, there is a reason that I give you these ones in particular. They are all laced with a special concoction of deadly poisons that combine to form a super-venom. One scratch from either of these sets can kill a man in a matter of minutes, regardless to his size. These will do Moses for certain, especially if you do it during the fireworks and then slip out," Thrawn answered.

"Mitth'raw'nuruodo, your mind has always fascinated me. I'm the murderous psychopathic beauty of the Ascendancy, it's part of my charm. Yet the way you think, analyze, strategize, and execute your thoughts scares even me sometimes," she stated. "Rest assured little sister that I will never use this mind against you unless you leave me no choice," he replied.

"That's comforting to know," she said. "Put them on and use them when the fireworks begin, the poison is painless and he will be too dazzled by the fireworks to notice your absence," he said. "With pleasure, my brother," she stated with a bow before leaving. But he stopped her and reminded her to act like he had put her in her place to please her husband who was as good as dead now.

_Alas, I will command all assets of the Ascendancy and I will replace those incompetent, old fools with fresher and more creative blood. I will also have my revenge for being forced to abandon Arden Lyn and Depa to their escape pod all those years ago_ Thrawn thought excitedly. But he also remembered one important detail of business to take care of, one that would need to be started before the assassination of Moses in order to be ready on time.

Sneaking off into a communications room and putting on the private channel, he contacted the one ally he thought he might never have a reason to see again. An audience with Emperor Palpatine was the objective of his desire for communication and one he would get by any means necessary. Luckily, he didn't have to go through some sort of private secretary or Lord Vader to get to his prize this time. Instead, it seemed as though the Emperor had been expecting the communication from Thrawn and was wondering what took him so long.

"Is everything in order?" Palpatine asked immediately. "Yes milord, soon the Ascendancy will be mine and we will have resources to share with your glorious regime," Thrawn answered as quickly. "Excellent, then everything is proceeding as I have foreseen. Upon your oath of allegiance, I will have you tested in your strategical ability against Rebels: if you pass you are a Grand Admiral," Palpatine said.

"And if I fail?" Thrawn asked rather inquisitively. "If you fail, you will merely be another one of my subordinate generals who must work his way up into my good favor. Normally, I do not accept aliens into the Army of my regime but with you, I am willing to leave room for exception," the old man answered. "You do me great honor by giving me a rare opportunity indeed, I shall not disappoint you," Thrawn stated reassuringly.

"I am quite confident that this test should be quite easy for you. However, another matter has come to my mind now that we speak of your achievements. What news on the front of finding this Arden Lyn woman and her apprentice?" Palpatine asked. "The search is still going but if anyone has found her by now, I have no doubts that Warmaster Czulkang did just that," Thrawn answered.

"And what would an official of the Yuuzhan Vong want with them?" Palpatine demanded. "I am not sure but he has told me of interest in them on the part of Nom Anor, an Intendant of the Elite class. However, it is my hope that Czulkang can rescue them from the Intendant's clutches and return them to me as the truce would be endangered should Nom Anor decide to keep them hostage," Thrawn stated. "Be careful, I do not need a war on another front when it's hard enough keeping my own lands united as it is," the Emperor warned.

"Yes Master, it could be just a mistake and they could still be floating but I will find them even if it takes eternity to do so," Thrawn vowed. Chuckling, the Emperor stated that he admired Thrawn's passion. "But I'm afraid this search might not have eternity if you do not find them soon enough," he warned before cutting transmission. The more time I waste, the less time I have to execute the plans that need her power most vitally in order to survive he exclaimed silently.

He hoped that he would be able to find Czulkang but with news of a revolution that had recently kicked out Nom Anor for losing a challenge to the old Warmaster, he wasn't so sure. But as fate would have it, Czulkang himself came to put his own uncertainties to rest forevermore. "Thrawn, it has been a long time," Czulkang said, greeting the Chiss that had ousted him in war. "Indeed Czulkang, how goes it all with your son?" Thrawn asked formally.

"It goes well with him, he learns more in a day than I could teach him in a week. But formalities aside, I presume that you are here to talk to me about some allies that you are still searching for?" Czulkang inquired. How did he know that I was searching for allies? Thrawn asked himself silently. "Yes, why have you found any?" Thrawn asked aloud.

Czulkang nodded and asked if the names Arden Lyn and Depa Billaba rung a bell. Thrawn did his very best to hide his surprise but he admitted that it did ring a bell to him. "Rest assured that they are safe for now as I have persuaded Nom to let them leave though he demanded a price. They are asked to assassinate one of our more minor nobles in exchange for free passage home," Czulkang confessed.

"Strange, why does he want them to do the job?" Thrawn asked. "Onimi, the target, is attuned to the Force like them. As a result, it's up to them to rid us of the Court Jester that obviously controls our Supreme Overlord," Czulkang answered. "Then for their sake, I hope that they actually manage to do it; I'll be leaving the festival now," Thrawn said.

"Wait, aren't you going to stay around for the ceremony?" Czulkang asked. "No, I have seen it fourteen times and arranged for a messenger to recite the speech wrote for this year. Besides, I have a little bit of an ascension in the ranks to make for my next alliance," Thrawn answered. Czulkang smiled and complimented Thrawn for always having plans within plans within plans to operate on.

"I assure you that it is just a means of survival by which I have always lived," Thrawn replied happily. The two old warlords parted ways as both of them began concocting thoughts of what would happen if they met again. True that it was sadistic but it was also fun to do... They were great minds that would bounce off each other rather excellently.

**Several Yuuzhan Vong soldiers** were thrown across the room and Shimrra had to admit that the entrance Quoreal made was rather melodramatic. "Do you really have to show off your strength like that? You know it was no match for me the last time that you fought me in combat," Shimrra asked. "Shut up and raise your Scepter to fight me, I will have revenge and besides, you had Onimi amplify your strength that last time; I just know it!" Quoreal answered.

_Now how did he figure it out? He didn't even know who Onimi was at the time I challenged him for the right to the throne_ Shimrra asked himself silently. His guess was that Nom Anor and his allies told him about Onimi's power but that was a very vague and very undeveloped idea. In fact, he was wondering if he should ever consider exploring it once this duel was over and he had triumphed over Quoreal once more.

"Very well, I accept your challenge. You know the stakes, therefore I shall not state them," Shimrra said. He didn't need to since they were alone but he did have to wonder how Quoreal could have gotten passed the security that he had had installed around his palace during the festival. It didn't matter, he would use Quoreal's traditionalist beliefs against him soon enough, thus emerging the winner.

_He has no idea what occasion this is nor do I think he will care until I tell him_ Shimrra told himself enthusiastically as he prepared to fight his old rival once again. "By the power invested in the creation of this Scepter, I shall not touch the symbol of my rule again until I have emerged from this fight. I shall command a common amphistaff for the duration of the duel that we are about to conduct," he stated aloud as he cast the Scepter aside and stole an amphistaff off one of his dead soldiers. Then, to his old enemy's agreement, he asked if they should get this duel underway.

**After having met with** Thrawn to confirm that Arden Lyn and Depa were still alive, Czulkang headed out to the field where the rebels and the loyalists were due to fight. Truly it was a sight to behold even if it was nowhere near as significant as their forces had been before fighting Admiral Thrawn. To think that we could have risen so far up and then fall so low again is unbelievable he thought. Sadness clouded his mind at that thought and he shook his head to push it aside as he headed out to complete the final stage of his plan for saving the humans and all his people.

Since Tsavong was leading this effort as the newest Warmaster, he would challenge his son to single combat, the winner either keeping or taking the title of Head Warmaster. And because Tsavong had been informed of this change in advance, he was glad to see that his son had come prepared. _He is eager to complete this final stage, regardless of how it turns out for him_ Czulkang said to himself. The challenge was simple: if Tsavong won, he kept his title and the rebels surrendered back into Shimrra's fold and if he lost, war would begin and Czulkang would have his title back.

They would fight not with weapons but hand-to-hand as any member of a cast beside the Supreme Overlord would be asked to do. Though Czulkang determined that it was no more than a formality, it was one that he was willing to follow even against his own son. "Czulkang, Tsavong is younger and strong plus you trained him in what he knows. Even if you win, he'll give you a good run for your money," one of the rebel leaders warned him.

"That is precisely the point: I want my son to give me a good run before I triumph if my return to my former title is going to be honorable," Czulkang replied. Besides, it will feed the fires of my deceit much better anyway the old Warmaster thought but didn't say. He threw away the amphistaff he had originally had and prepared to fight his son with some of his finest martial arts ever. And in the distance, he could see his son doing the same despite the murmurs going around both camps.

"Czulkang, by the standards of most species, you are very old and are long past your prime. Even if your son doesn't gain the upperhand immediately, he could draw out the duel long enough for you to have a heart attack just when you might have finished him off. Please, for your sake more than anyone else's, don't do this," the leader begged again. But Czulkang only scoffed him off once again.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**Chapter Fifteen**

"I get the feeling this is going to be more dangerous than anything that we have done before, Mistress. True that I won't back down from a good fight but I think we've got to be sure that we can defeat Onimi before we fight him," Depa said. "I shall consult the Talisman and see if Onimi is using anything to fuel his power, he isn't that strong and I sensed some kind of fuel behind him," Arden said. When it came alive, the Talisman immediately told her of a portal that did for Onimi what the Talisman itself did for Arden Lyn.

_I can take you there but I cannot undo it, it must be destroyed by you creating a sword from your scabbard and literally tearing it in two after plunging both blades into its center. Other than that, it will not be destroyed and it will continue to fuel Onimi with power until it has met its end_ the Talisman added. _Then take me there but pull me back out the moment that I complete the deed of destroying the portal_ Arden replied. _As you wish, milady_ the Talisman said as it wrapped her in tendrils of green energy, the sign of teleportation.

For several seconds, that was all she could see in all directions until she finally arrived at what seemed to be a chamber in Onimi's home. The spinning red vortex before you is the source of the portal's power and where Onimi most likely draws power from the Talisman stated. Arden nodded and guessed that the center of it was where Onimi most likely drew power from to gain victory. Drawing out her sword and creating a duplicate via the magic that she had always used before then switching her blades so that the sharp tips pointed backwards, a perfect stabbing position.

Then, when she was ready to do so, she raised them up over her head and plunged the tips into the center of the portal, causing a chain reaction that included the portal's power trying to resist her. During this time, however, Arden and the Talisman both observed that the portal had been drained not too long ago and was still recovering. As a result, resistance would be futile for it and Arden was able to maneuver the blades in such a manner that she could create the tearing effect the Talisman mentioned. When it was finished, a sudden burst of bright light began to form and the entirety of the building began to shake just as the Talisman quick wrapped Arden back into its teleporting cocoon and they escaped.

After they returned to where Arden had been standing beside Depa just before she left, Arden looked down at her swords and noticed that the hilts were all that remained. _Twenty-five thousand years and my blades are destroyed for a good purpose just as I hoped. Actually, I had hoped that they would be lost in battle with me all those years ago but that's beside the point_ Arden thought. "Here Mistress, a lightsaber I stole off Vergere before I put her out of her miserable existence," Depa said after spying the destroyed swords.

Arden caught the hilt and after some instruction about how to turn it on, she watched as the green blade hissed to life and got a feel for it pretty quickly. It was almost like wielding a better version of her swords which had now been absorbed into her being and became a part of her power. "Thanks apprentice, I think I will be needing it for the upcoming confrontation," she said with a smile. _She has no idea_ Depa thought but didn't say.

**Before arriving to the** bridge of Czulkang's personal cruiser, Onimi had felt a massive tremor in the Force and knew it to be only one thing. Someone had slipped away while he was coming here and destroyed the portal, cutting off his supply of infinite power. Not just anybody could do that though, it had to be one of the women that he was about to face which made him wonder. Had he been called to a trap or had they been sincere in their declaration of a challenge for him?

And if they were sincere, was it just the two of them or was someone else operating behind them and they were the more public face of this group? Could it even be called a group or were these women operating individually? Too many questions and not enough time to find all the answer, after all, what if he died today in this final confrontation? It was something he hated thinking about but he had to keep himself open to the possibility of his own demise.

**Arden and Depa both** sensed their enemy approaching long before he came through the door leading into the bridge and prepared accordingly. What they saw when the door opened was kind of disappointing: this Yuuzhan Vong was much shorter than who they met before. He had deformities on his face though these were minimal and they had to admit he looked silly. Which was probably befitting of his title, one might add since he was the Court Jester despite his attunement to the Force.

"You destroyed the portal, didn't you?" he asked. "If I say yes, what can you do?" Arden answered. "Destroy you, perhaps," Onimi replied. "You are naive and inexperienced, we have had years of training and can recall mistakes that we have made with our power," Depa interjected.

"It matters not, you will find that I am definitely the most powerful of the three of us though combined, the two of you are nearly as strong as I am," Onimi observed. "Your arrogance blinds you, Jester Onimi. Now you will witness the full power of a master Force user," Arden warned. First, she attacked with green Force Lightning and was somewhat surprised that Onimi could actually parry it. Then Depa surprised them both when she grabbed Onimi with telekinesis and threw him around the bridge without actually casting him into space.

After that, she moved in with Pyrokinesis and Arden had to admit that she was impressed even though that she kept it aside for following up with another barrage of Force Lightning. The result was such overwhelming pain on Onimi's part that he literally delved into the Force as far as he could. When he returned he channeled it out in the Force Scream, an ability that Vergere had trained him in. Arden and Depa backed down immediately as they watched everything around Onimi crumble before him.

_Now that was interesting_ Arden thought but didn't say as she then withdrew her new lightsaber and charged in. She planned to start with Niman and dig into Shii-Cho if she absolutely had to, knowing full well that Onimi couldn't have an idea of how to fight against masters of saber combat. Combined with Depa's usage of Vaapad, the two women once again had the edge in the duel and this time, it looked like it was secured.

However, Onimi surprised them yet again with his ability in Force Repulse and he actually managed to separate them. It was a cunning move and he was a little disappointed that Depa was the first one to recover from the Repulse and fought him.

_Brave of you, old woman. But I would have thought you had learned your lesson at this point, you cannot win, after all_ Onimi thought but didn't say. Unleashing two amphistaffs, Onimi charged at Depa as she began charging at him and continued the duel in saber-staff combat. For a moment, the woman looked like she had an advantage due to the difficulty of her style.

But the problem lied in the secret weapon of the lasers that could emanate from the mouths of the amphistaffs. When Depa least expected it, Onimi commanded his weapons to fire several bolts into her chest and stomach area. _Dishonorable Infidels deserve dishonorable deaths_ Onimi thought to himself. The thought was so delightfully wonderful to Onimi that he even began to laugh as he commanded his snakes to let go of Depa's lightsaber since they had coiled around it before.

He backed away as she dropped to the hard floor beneath their feet and Arden reappeared, shocked and almost seemingly afraid of what was happening. "Depa, no! Stay with me, stay with me apprentice!" she exclaimed. "I'm sorry Mistress, I failed you and all that followed us," Depa replied.

"No, there's still time, you can pull through this if you just hold on!" Arden begged. "If I do, I rise back up and help you defeat Onimi and we go home, then what? All I ever knew is dead and gone now and has been for fifteen years, I know I sound like a quitter but it's true. Were it not for the twenty-five thousand year difference, I would be older than you," Depa said.

"What's the point!? Why are you giving up now?" Arden demanded. "Even if we win, it's too late for me to start my life again. Mace Windu and most of my friends are dead and gone, the ones that remain remember me as someone who defected to the Dark Side and had to be put in a coma.

"Worst of all, I am at an age where it would be too late for me to start again even if I truly wanted to. The galaxy fears Darksiders like Sidious and fallen Jedi like us, it hates the Jedi Order itself for crimes it never committed, and bounty hunters bring in people like us for money. While we were in the trance, the Talisman revealed all of this and more to me but I never understood why. Now I do Arden and I am tired living, I am tired of being pulled and pushed from end to end without reprieve.

"I thought I had undergone enlightenment that day when I fell to the darkness of Haruun Kal but it wasn't until I apprenticed myself to you that I found I was wrong. What I found when I did was that I had fallen under a greater insanity than the one I had tried to escape from. You completed my quest for knowledge of how to act and think outside the box when it comes to the Force and I thank you," Depa explained calmly. "She's almost a corpse and she's able to talk?" Onimi mocked.

Arden shot a glance at him that showed the anger which caused her eyes to glow the bright-green color of her lightning. The result of that move was Onimi being swept off his feet and thrown against a wall, temporarily blacking out in the process and thus being silenced. "Mistress, you are technically twenty-six years old and I am a normal sixty-four. It is too late for me to start a new life if we ever did return home to the galaxy but you?

"You are young and have the whole universe right before you and with the Order we knew destroyed, you could reforge it with the research you and Xendor discovered all those years ago. It is you who can tell the survivors the truth of what happened and remedy the corrupted Archive records. Plus, you are wise far beyond even my years to where you make even Master Yoda look unenlightened which he is. You have more to go back to the galaxy for than I do even if you feel it's not by much," Depa continued.

"But you are my only friend, what allies will I have when you are gone?" Arden asked. "None, I admit but that is where your power shall come in. It will attract many potential allies and the test is that you find out which ones will help you restore your family honor and that of Xendor's. I don't know why but I feel like it is your destiny to do that," Depa answered.

_I'll be damned if I can even end the hatred that is sure to come up at the mention of my name, never mind do all that_ Arden thought but didn't say. It was while she was thinking this that Depa said something that she would take to heart and had foreseen for some time. "But beware the power of the Talisman, when it showed me the visions I saw I realized it did so in the hopes to corrupt me. I know you have it under control now but I get the feeling it's setting you up for an easier takeover of your identity and make you no better than any who possessed it before," Depa said.

And with that, Arden knew that she could no longer hold on to it without testing the bounds of its power to the greatest of her ability to test it. _Talisman, what can we do with Depa's power if I decided to transfer it to you for the sake of defeating Onimi?_ Arden asked, tapping into it again. _I can turn her power into a beam that could be amplified by my own power. However, I warn you that result can range from just burning Onimi to shooting him out of the ship and unto Zonama._

_It can even go all the way to destroying everything on the surface of the planet if we're not careful_ the Talisman confessed. _I think it's safe to say that I want you to amplify her power, after you use it to create the beam, as much as you possible can_ Arden replied. _But that could leave me drained for years, maybe even decades when it's finished. You would be on your own during all that time and I could not heal you without compromising my attunement to the Force!_

_You're taking a massive risk by asking me to do that_ the Talisman warned. _Maybe that's what I have in mind_ Arden stated. The Talisman made something close to a sigh and began to wrap green tendrils around Depa's body as it absorbed her power through her wounds. Onimi was still unconscious from what Arden had done but he was stirring, only a matter of time before he revived.

"Depa, I know you're probably not going to like me for this but I need you to surrender your power to the Talisman. You're going to have no use for it when you're dead so I'm putting it to use while you're still alive," Arden said. Depa smiled, understanding her Mistress' intent and surrendered herself to letting the Talisman take her power though it literally pained her to do so. Though Arden had hoped that Depa's end would be a quiet and quick affair, she was glad to be there for it all the same.

Something about Depa's expression of content and happiness at the acceptance of a rather timely death relieved her in more ways than not. In fact, it reminded her of how Xendor had accepted his own violent death when Loki the Destroyer had finished beating him with a massive warhammer. When the transfer was finally complete, Depa looked at her Mistress a final time and raised a hand to Arden's cheek. "If ever I were to have had an affair with a man against the will of the Order, I would have wanted you to be my daughter, Arden Lyn; then my life would be truly complete," she said.

And with those words, Depa closed her eyes as she let the fingers of death snuff out her spark of life and transcend her soul into the netherworld of the Force. _I will always be there for you Arden Lyn and when you finally meet your end, I shall be the first to greet you_ Depa said telepathically. A tear or two fell from Arden's eyes, a surprise for her considering the trauma of her own dark past. However, she turned her attention to one immediate goal: revenge against the man who killed Depa Billaba, her one true friend in an alien universe that feared and hated her kind.

_Is the beam ready, Kashi Mer?_ Arden asked the Talisman. _Yes, just tell me when to fire and I shall_ it answered her. "So, the hag finally managed to silence herself and accept the unavoidable. Can't say that I'm anything short of impressed as far as her longevity against the venom of my weapons," Onimi stated.

"You cheated the rules of fair combat and as such, must be punished severely. Feel the power of eons of accumulation from possibly the deepest well that the Force has ever created," Arden said. Then she signaled the Talisman to fire the beam while she used her own power to keep it levitated and steady as it would need to be whilst firing the laser. The resulting green beam of energy covered the width and length of everything from Onimi's shoulders to his waist.

In desperation, he threw a barrier up in an attempt to stop the beam from hitting him but the energy of it smashed through his defenses like a rock through glass. The last things Arden saw sticking out of the sides of the laser were Onimi's head and limbs before he disappeared screaming. Arden relished his suffering and his fear, taking it into her being as she helped the Talisman continue its shot. For what seemed like eternity, the Talisman slowly milked the power that Depa had transferred into it and the result was a laser that could extend infinitely if it uninterrupted by something it didn't get through.

_Xendor would be pleased to see what I am doing_ Arden thought as she continued to demand the Talisman slowly milk out Depa's midichlorians. Slowly, the numbers drained out of the Talisman as did its power to amplify the laser to the greatest extent possible. And when the midichlorians were finally spent along with the Talisman's own power, Arden let go of her concentration and let it fall to her hand. When she looked into it after firing the laser, she felt it drained just as it had warned her that it would be after extending its full power to amplifying Depa's power into a laser of that magnitude for so long.

Its voice sounded much like a man broken and spent, something that actually pleased Arden more than she realized. Her task complete now, she decided to contact Czulkang and let him know that the deed was done. He would protect her from the desires of Nom Anor during her journey back home just as she knew he had been trying to do from the beginning. If I had to pick a Yuuzhan Vong official to miss when I go back, it would most definitely be him she thought to herself as she left his ship.

She wanted to go planetside to meet him as per his instructions for after the revolution had either ended or overthrown Shimrra's regime. But she foresaw the former outcome more clearly than she saw the latter and she had to say that she was hardly disappointed. She didn't know what to feel about a resistance that seemed real but she knew to be fake, she hadn't seen anything like it before. But soon, her own feelings about it all would be eclipsed by what she would see upon arriving on Zonama Sekot.

**"You know my love,** your brother has to be the most rebellious officer that I have ever had to deal with. It's no wonder I ordered him banished when he chose to defy me on how to defeat the Killiks when they arrived at our capital world," Moses stated. "My brother has a way with people that can seem either awkward or stupid when compared to his ability to analyze and strategize," Meg said. True that she didn't hate defending her brother Thrawn, in fact it was one of her favorite things, but she hated having to constantly do it with her own husband.

_The man's incompetence was as great as his obesity (in other words, still growing like his weight) and arguments with him became less entertaining. I'm glad that the time for his demise is coming soon_ she thought to herself silently. "Perhaps you're right but then he could be just a looney with an astounding amount of luck and intelligence. Do me a favor and scratch my back for me please?" he asked.

This was the opportunity she was waiting for, the desire to test the poison of the fake fingernails her brother had given her too great to resist. She went around to his back and began scratching in just the way that he always liked it: starting slow and escalating until he was starting to bleed. In addition, the escalation was to be quick as well or else he would complain about the itch still being there. "You always did have your mother's hands, she used to do this for me when I was younger," Moses stated.

_A mistake I had hoped not to repeat when I was forced to marry you to establish peace in the Ascendancy_ Meg thought but didn't say. The escalation was as quick as ever and Meg replied to Moses by saying that he must have enjoyed it then to demand it of her now. "Oh yes, you have no idea how good she was to me while we were married," he said with a laugh. Meg half-smiled, remembering how her mother had divorced him in favor of marrying the man who would sire her and Thrawn.

The thought gave her the distraction she needed to accidentally cause him to bleed and let the poison seep its way into his veins and blood. "Oh excellent job, my sweet! You're excused now if you wish to be," he said. She took the opportunity to leave that he gave her and almost laughed at how easy it had been to set his death in motion.

Soon, all she and Thrawn ever deserved would be theirs with the Ascendancy and its resources to help them get there. She savored and cherished the thought of telling her brother about her success in killing Moses when a green beam passed through the city of the Yuuzhan Vong that she walked from. Suspicious that it wasn't good, she began to run in the opposite direction of it, hoping to get to the safety of her brother before something bad happened.

However, after several minutes of continuous flight in one direction, the laser's end flew by her and the fire that came with it erupted forth. Mitt'mega'nuruada never escaped the wrath that followed the beam that shot from all the way across the edge of the living world known as Zonama Sekot alive.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

**Chapter Sixteen**

The duel with Tsavong had gone much better for Czulkang than either of them could ever have anticipated. Despite the war continuing and soldiers on both sides dying, including many of the members of the Elite who had been enemies in the Chamber, the duel decided the outcome. Czulkang had publicly challenged his son with the very stakes that he had planned to have put into the duel. As instructed before, Tsavong threw aside his amphistaff along with his father before engaging him.

The duel was one that had been long and drawn out with each fighter scoring several punches and a couple kicks on their opponent. However, Czulkang occasionally surprised his inexperienced son with moves where he clasped his hands together and hit with the top or the sides of them. Of course, Tsavong failed to disappoint when he fought against this brutal assault with his own merciless tactics. Several times, he aimed for his father's chest, especially his heart and lungs, as well as aiming for the kidneys whenever he was behind him.

But Czulkang doomed himself the moment he hit Tsavong in the face, knocking out five teeth in the process. Giving into the "Rage of the Warmaster" Tsavong lunged on a full-scale attack, doubling in strength and power as the minutes accumulated. By the time he finally managed to subdue his father, Tsavong had doubled in height, increased six fold in muscular size, and eightfold in agility. Czulkang managed to keep up until the last little bit where his heart palpitated and he nearly fell unconscious.

But he recovered just in time to see his son hit him in the chin hard enough to throw him on his back before then stomping a foot on his chest to show his dominance. And as Tsavong shrunk back to his normal size, he held his arms as an exclamation of his victory against his father. The rebels, as per the terms of the duel, surrendered to the loyalists of Shimrra and Czulkang was allowed to rise back up. "Well done, my son, you have earned your title and may do as you wish with me," Czulkang stated to his son.

"I will revoke your Shamed One and allow you to become an advisor to me. Though you are no longer the head of Domain Lah, your years of experience will contribute to my career," Tsavong replied._ A wise choice though one that will surprise all around us considering you defeated me in a duel_ Czulkang thought to himself with a smile. "Bring me a coralskipper, I wish to return to my personal cruiser to put my prisoner to work immediately," Tsavong ordered.

Several soldiers nodded but only one managed to bring the ship he requested and just when Tsavong was about to take off, a green beam passed across the field of battle. It reduced those in its path to ash while only burning those that were near it and throwing them to the ground. What is that? Tsavong asked himself, frightened. _That's no good, we'd better get back to my cruiser immediately, judging by the trajectory of that bea_m Czulkang thought.

And as if reading this thoughts, Tsavong stepped on the accelerator of the coralskipper and they were in the atmosphere in a matter of minutes. Both were relieved to have escaped it and the revolution with their lives. But there was still the matter of seeing whether or not Quoreal had actually succeeded in the duel with Shimrra, something to think about as they left the Living Planet. Behind and below them, the entire planet of Zonama Sekot turned to a burning hell after the laser passed over it.

**The rematch with Quoreal** had been far more intense for Shimrra than he had remembered it being. But that was likely because he didn't have Onimi helping him this time unlike that fateful clash of amphistaff and Yuuzhan Vong teeth against flesh. _Quoreal was more vicious this time around than I remembered him being in the last duel. Probably because he was more vengeful this time than he had been when he was only competing for his title_ Shimrra thought to himself silently.

Much like the last fight, they had begun with amphistaffs and had even engaged in fair combat as two members of the Supreme Overlord caste should. However, as it progressed, Shimrra lost his amphistaff when Quoreal's bit it on the head and injected it with venom. That meant that Shimrra had been forced to duck and roll from Quoreal's blows whenever he was on the ground and evade. Nonetheless, he managed to find a pair of fighting daggers and proceeded to use them before then disarming Quoreal of his amphistaff.

That was before Quoreal revealed a secret weapon: a pair of quad bladed knuckledusters. He also revealed high proficiency in kicking techniques of martial arts to go along with the sharp blades. Occasionally, one of the knuckledusters managed to graze Shimrra's flesh at beast. However, the kicks were by far the more powerful blows since Quoreal aimed at his chest and face whenever possible to.

But Shimrra managed to obtain some artificial talons to act as equivalents to Quoreal's knuckledusters and displayed kicking techniques of his own. Though Quoreal was familiar with most of them, there were one or two that Shimrra could count on to do their job and weaken his enemy. But still, Quoreal pounded through, vowing to win his title back or die trying to do so. _I'm hoping you'll die trying and I'll do what it takes to see that's the way it goes_ Shimrra had thought silently.

Victory was especially sweet in its relishing when Shimrra reminisced on how he defeated Quoreal after a prolonged contest of martial arts and bladed hands. Using a disarming technique he had learned to use with his hands, Shimrra managed to place his talons on Quoreal's arms and scratch hard. The result was that the knuckledusters were painfully ripped from the fallen Overlord's hands and cast aside to leave his hands bare and no stronger than Shimrra's had been. Though his kicking technique was still good after that, it became more enraged and animallike until he was almost brawling.

Shimrra had also indulged himself and gone down to that level, channeling all of his strength and agility towards the singular goal of destroying his enemy by any and all means necessary. Having lost and found the fighting daggers, Shimrra threw one at his enemy who caught as he had expected of him. Then they proceeded to have a knife fight, seeing who could stab who first or whose throat would be slit first, spilling lifeblood onto the cruiser that had once belonged to Quoreal. Shimrra not only managed to disarm his enemy after about half an hour of fighting with the knives but he managed to cut his throat.

Granted, it wasn't a fatal cut but the shock of it was enough to traumatize Quoreal, his reaction proving it when he fell to the ground on his back, his body arched in shock. There, he began to choke on his own blood since the dagger had cut enough to where he would if he lied on his back. But Shimrra was pleased to let his enemy die a slow, painful death with choking on his blood and waited until he did. Then he hovered over his old enemy and sawed at the cut he had made with his dagger until he managed to slice through bone and literally lop off Quoreal's head.

"Now I am the true Supreme Overlord for all time!" he exclaimed as he held Quoreal's severed head in one hand and the dagger in the other. Then he threw the head into the cold recesses of space from his cruiser and told his enemy to try and come back from that if he could. "How can you resurrect without your head?" he added. Then he sat back and enjoyed his victory just in time to see a green beam flash to life from Domain Lah's cruiser and had a feeling it wasn't good.

After all, Onimi had gone there due to business that he needed to conduct there with the women of his vision who had arrived to the Yuuzhan Vong stronghold alas. Nonetheless, he knew that those at ground level would be affected by the weapon somehow though he had no idea what. Then it happened: after the green beam ceased, a massive mushroom cloud of fire erupted from his city. As if that wasn't the worst part, he could also see all of the mountains of Zonama Sekot crumble except for one peak.

In succession, all the volcanoes began erupting to the fullest power that they could throw on the planet and the mushroom cloud that enveloped the center of his city gave way to a blastwave of fire. Combined with meteors that shot across the sky only to land back down randomly, whether on the floating isles of land that Zonama was famed for or else miles from the wave on plains, it was ungodly. Helplessly, he watched as the blastwave of fire wrapped the planet in a burning blanket and saw as a few of his people had managed to escape its deadly effect though he wasn't sure about any others. The man called Thrawn, Shimrra felt, surely had escaped even if none of his Chiss brothers did.

But he continued to eye the destruction with pandemonious panic setting into his heart, nearly causing him to faint right there. He knew what to name this green beam that had destroyed Zonama and his entire city: "The Fire That Burned The Living World" was its title. And it was a very fitting title when one considered the massive amounts of death and destruction that it had caused on a single day._ This is truly going to put a dent in the festival's performance, is this the wrath of the gods?_ he thought.

He hoped not as it would shatter his anti-traditionalist views and judging by where it came from, it couldn't be the wrath of phantom deities that seldom showed themselves to anyone. But his greatest hope was that Onimi had not been anywhere near that laser beam that had destroyed most of the world. If he was going to forge a new dynasty for the Yuuzhan Vong, he was going to need the help of his Court Jester who was wise beyond even his own title.

**Onimi felt that the** only reason he survived the laser and the ride it took him on was because of its high velocity combined with the fact that it had stopped in the heart of a mountain. However, that didn't stop it from hurting as it burned into his flesh hot enough to melt his armor. Whenever he tried to escape, it twisted his upper or lower body so that his pelvis eventually became distorted. The best he could do under the circumstances was hope that it would be over soon and he would survive it all.

After all, what good was he to his Supreme Overlord Shimrra or to Vergere if he was dead? On top of that, what good were his plans for the future if he could not execute them himself? All these questions reminded him to will himself through the laser's nastiest effects. The result was him just barely surviving to the laser's end and having no ability to move except by crawling.

Even that was an effort as just extending his arm to pull himself along was painful and tedious a process to conduct. As if that wasn't bad enough, pulling himself along hurt so much that he had to stop and let the pain numb away before continuing. Though he would except the pain as a reality of his defeat, it took much adaptation and he had a feeling that he was going to be out of commission for a bit. However, something bothered him as he crawled his way out of the tunnel that had saved him from being blown across the universe by the most powerful weapon he had ever seen in his life.

As he crawled, he examined his current attunement in the Force and realized that it had been drained. All the power of the gods of his people had dissipated before the might of a little magic piece of glass wielded by a human woman with a vengeance for him. _Perhaps she was to be the personification of the God of Destruction, the only being from whom he had not withdrawn power to fuel his resolve. Maybe he was displeased with my lack of respect for him and showed me his displeasure through the woman; guess I had it coming all along_ he thought to himself as he kept on crawling.

Indeed, the will of the gods had a way of being both mysterious and erratic even to him and he was the one who was omnipotent compared to the rest of his people. But then there was Arden Lyn, the human woman who had proven that there were mortals with godlike skill in the Force. He had to admit that he respected her for that but at the same time, he wanted to destroy her forever. Before the end of his life, he wanted to not only recover but hunt down and slowly break and kill her for her deeds.

He would make her watch as all that remained in her life was wiped away before her eyes, breaking her spirit and draining all resolve to live in the process. And when Onimi saw the results of his work as well as her reaction to it, he would split her skull the moment she begged him to end her life. The thoughts themselves were more than enough to please him and motivate him to keep on crawling even when the damage of the laser on his body made it painful for him to do so. _I will have my revenge Arden Lyn, always be looking over your shoulder as I chase you down_! he vowed.

Laughing maniacally, he crawled as fast as he could to reach the end of the tunnel when he began to see it and kept laughing as he did so until he came to the end. The sight that he would behold was one that utterly drained his motivation and his desire for revenge even if temporarily. All around him, what appeared to have been Zonama Sekot was burning and the mountains were gone. That was, all except for the massive solitary peak that had seen his life saved by the thickness of the tunnel wall.

So this was the scope of the Force, unraveled before his eyes at last? This was was what Vergere had been warning Onimi of for all the years she had been training him? If so, it was no wonder she had told him to fear the power that lied in just the portal of all the things she talked about. But it gave him an idea at the same time, an idea that disappeared almost as quickly as it came.

However, whether this was because Onimi soon slipped into unconsciousness from exhaustion or not, was unknown. The vengeance of a woman's love for her friend had done him in and he was determined to destroy it at the source as much as he could. But it would have to wait for another time, when he had recovered as fully as he could and was able to wield the Force again. This was, after all, no time to be making grand schemes for revenge but rather a time to be recovering from his injuries.

**"Mitth'raw'nuruodo, take a look** at this!" the Ensign exclaimed, pointing out the window of Thrawn's personal cruiser as he did so. Thrawn hurried, acknowledging the Ensign's worry, and saw what it was that had caught the younger man's attention. The sight that he beheld was dreadful as a green beam had struck Zonama Sekot and apparently destroyed almost everything. Having left the planet to let his sister assassinate her husband, his face turned pale at the memory of her being there.

_No, it can't be! My sister had better have managed to escape or kill Moses before this happened!_ he exclaimed to himself silently. "Mitt'mega'nuarada, please come in," he said into his comlink, curious to know if his sister had survived. Nothing but static from her end as he repeated the transmission in hopes of her getting it and replying that she was safe.

But when there was still nothing from her after the fifth time, he knew for certain that she had not escaped alive. "Start search parties, fan out across the entire planet and rescue any survivors that happened to be stranded. I don't care if they're Yuuzhan Vong or Chiss, rescue them and bring them to the infirmary even if they're not wounded," he ordered, not letting his feelings get in the way. "Yes sir, we'll also have medical teams ready for those that need immediate assistance if you wish," the Ensign said.

"Do that, they'd never survive the evac process if they're fatally wounded. Besides, we need to save as many as we can, including the ones on the floating isles," Thrawn replied. Within minutes, his men were sending medical teams to every angle of the planet and scanning every millimeter for life. He hoped that his sister had just dropped her comlink and was actually alive but he couldn't know for sure. And as the medical teams began making their rescues and recoveries, he had to admit he was surprised by the lack of actual rescues which meant that the death toll was significant.

**Of all the things** that could have gone horribly wrong for Intendant Nom Anor, the destruction of Zonama Sekot was not something he had been planning on. He had been out of the range of the volcanoes so he didn't get vaporized in the eruptions and was underground so he wasn't burned alive. However, when he resurfaced, the damage was unbelievable and he had no way of finding his bearings in this burning wasteland that Zonama had become.

_What in the name of all things sacred has happened here?_ he asked himself angrily. Searching for survivors, he found some that had hidden beneath rocks and others who were lucky they hadn't been burned by the flaming pieces of wood they used for shelter. "Are you alright, Intendant Anor?" one of the surviving soldiers asked him. "Just fine, I was not in the path of the blast when it happened but what caused it?" he demanded.

"A green beam came from the sky and the result was total destruction across the entire planet," the soldier answered. Probably has to do with that Talisman, Yuuzhan Vong do not wield weapons that fit that description though amphistaffs are the closest Nom Anor observed. "Then let's begin making it easy for the medical teams Thrawn is sure to send to find survivors," he ordered aloud.

The soldiers with him bowed, knowing that that would be a good idea and began doing what they could to help save lives. In all his years as a politician, Nom Anor had never believed that he would be finding himself saving lives rather than destroying them. However, he was content that the Glory of Shimrra had been destroyed to the last molecule which meant most of his people were too. Granted, there were enough to restore the population and that was the way that it should be.

Still, he was victorious in his aim to reduce the Yuuzhan Vong population to such that he could work in his own plans for the future. It was all thanks to the woman that had come from the deep recesses of the Void and had been persuaded to help him through his own means. Now it was time for one more thing, it was time to collect on the powerful artifact that had surely caused this to Zonama. At last, the powers that would dwarf the Gods themselves would be his and all his intents would be met.

**Arden had arrived via** a coralskipper to the burning planet of Zonama Sekot. All around her, the damage of her test with the Talisman laid before her. "By the Force, what have I done?" she asked when she saw it for the first time. "You did what was necessary for the good of yourself and your galaxy. There was a benefit to all of this even if you don't realize it now," Czulkang answered, having reunited with her on the way down.

"What benefit is that?" she demanded. "Maybe not benefit, let me reword it. Everything has a purpose: this destruction will be nothing in twenty, twenty-five years or so. Life will rise and prosper back here as it always has on the living planet," Czulkang replied with a half-smile.

"Take me to one of the lava spews, I think it's time I did something I should have done twenty-five thousand years ago," Arden requested. "Which is?" he inquired. "I'm going to destroy the Talisman before I allow it to fall into the hands of someone like Nom Anor," she replied. Grinning now, Czulkang told her that that was what he liked to hear from a woman such as her on the matter of it. "Commander, where is the nearest spew of lava flowing on this planet?" he asked the pilot.

"Dead ahead, shall I hover over it?" the pilot replied. Czulkang told him to do just that and that was where they headed. Tearing the strip of string that held the Talisman around her neck, she held it out and over the edge of the coralskipper as they approached the one thing that could destroy it now. After all, it had lied to her about the planet of its creation being destroyed: Arden was flying over its surface.

_No Arden Lyn, you know not what you set in motion by doing this!_ the Talisman warned. _You possessed my husband, used his body to rape me towards the end of his life. I was a helpless coward then but now you are under my possession and I can decide your fate_ she replied. _You were able to cheat death because of me and this is the thanks I get!?_ it demanded.

_This is the thanks you get for all the bad you have brought upon me which outweighs any good_ she snapped. It continued to beg for its existence but Arden Lyn wouldn't listen, not now or here.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

**Chapter Seventeen**

Nom Anor observed a coralskipper fly across the sky towards one of the volcanoes, possibly to check for survivors. It was then that he decided to order one for himself and follow the path of the one that had just crossed his eyes._ There's no reason that a ship should be heading for the epicenter of a volcanic eruption, there wouldn't be survivors there_ he observed silently. Keeping a close eye on that coralskipper, he arrived just in time to see that Arden Lyn was one of the passengers.

What surprised him, far more than that, was that she was holding the Talisman by its chain out the port of the ship and above the lava. "No Arden, don't you dare let go of that thing! If that little thing is the cause of the green beam and all this destruction, hand to me at once!" Nom exclaimed. Arden looked up to see him, shocked that he would follow her here and have the gall to say that to her face.

"No Intendant, this power is too great to be trusted with any hands of mortal flesh. Least of all yours," she replied. "I have held many powerful weapons in my lifetime and wielded them successfully though I'm sure I don't compare to the wise old man behind you," he said, gesturing to Czulkang. "You misunderstand Nom Anor: the Talisman was forged by a being so obsessed with the Force..." she began.

"Go on, what?" Nom demanded. "That the price of his becoming like it was that he was stripped of a body containing flesh and bone. He wouldn't have survived as long as he has without the aid of a container such as this that wouldn't be affected by time under the right circumstances. His obsession to become a god that wielded only the Force cost him heart and thus, his soul," she finished.

"So his obsession brought about his undoing though the Talisman was created in the process. What does it matter when he is a god as a result but one that can be wielded to the benefit of any that possess him?" Nom demanded. "You misunderstand what she says, Intendant Anor," Czulkang interjected. "Then enlighten me, old fool!" Nom exclaimed.

"One does not possess this power without paying a toll for it, Xendor's ancestors recognized this after the original Kashi Mer transformed himself into this artifact. In the end, the Talisman will eat at your mind until you are but a hollow shell waiting for him to fill it with his own soul. If ever that were to happen, he would gain immortality and become the god he always wished to be. Would you be willing to trade your mind and soul for the power the Talisman offers?" Arden replied.

_Do not listen to her, Nom Anor. I await the touch of your hands against my containment, do not let her take away your chance to use the powers of a god_ a voice said in Nom's mind._ Immortality, invincibility, and the power to destroy entire worlds simply awaiting my acceptance of you_ Nom mentally replied as he extended a hand to try and grab it. "Give it to me, Arden Lyn, I wish to have it!" he shouted aloud.

"No, Nom Anor, you are unfit to possess that which seeks only to destroy. Sure you may get a few years of invincibility out of the Talisman and you might succeed in all your goals. But by the time you do that, the Talisman will have molded and ripened you to a point where the spirit within can take you. Your mind would be crushed and your soul destroyed before the might of the spirit this prism of glass carries as he replaced both with himself," Arden replied.

"In other words, you are more than unfit to even touch this weapon of mass-doom, never mind wield it," Czulkang added. Arden nodded but kept her hand firmly on one end of the chain that suspended the Talisman above a massive pool of lava. In his mind, Nom Anor could hear the voice of the Talisman begging Arden to reconsider what she was doing. Unfortunately, he could also hear her rebuffing its requests and he insisted on his verbal demand to have it.

"So shallow are you Nom Anor, that you know not what you'd do if you had this damned thing in your possession. It ravaged my galaxy by taking over the minds of such warriors as my husband, mightiest of his time, and channeling their power for destructive purposes. Would you be willing to let it do that to your people for eons more and countless other galaxies beyond you?" she asked. "My people are fools, indulged to the point of spoil by their years of war and success!

"No bigger a fool is there than the old man next to you, Arden Lyn. I intend to wipe the universe clean of people like him and start a new universe under my image!" he answered. "Then I'm afraid there's only one thing remaining to do," Arden said. Right after that, she loosened her grip on the chain and half of its total length slipped out of her hands as Nom made to jump toward it.

"Onimi is defeated, Depa is dead, and I want home! Do not demand more of me, Intendant!" she shouted. "I'd listen to her if I were you," Czulkang said approvingly. "Oh I am not demanding, I am requesting," Nom said, extending his hand out as far as he could.

He did this in such manner that she could place it into the palm of his hand and they would be on their way. "I can guarantee you first-class passage to wherever you wish to go, you can even avoid Thrawn's eye if you want to," Nom offered. "Czulkang has already agreed to drop me off at a spot most likely to be visited by the Chiss rescue teams in the next hour or so. I don't intend to avoid Thrawn, I intend to speak with him," Arden said, loosening her grip a little more.

Now, only a small portion of the chain was actually in her hand and all she needed to do was let go of her grip completely before it was sent plummeting into the lava lake below. "Swear that you shall leave me alone and that you'll see to it that no one takes vengeance against me. I _might_ reconsider dropping this if you make this oath to me," Arden ordered. "All right, I swear it, just give it to me!" Nom demanded.

Arden paused and for a while, there was no exchange of words between Arden and Nom nor any additional comments from Czulkang. _Save me Nom Anor, save me. She deceives you in what she says about what I do to those who possess me. My previous possessors drove themselves into the madness and destruction she speaks of_ the Talisman said to him.

_I am doing what I can but still she is persistent in seeing your doom_ Nom replied mentally. Then Arden did it: she let go of the last of the chain and Nom Anor helplessly watched as it fell to the lava that beckoned below them. Closing his hand and clenching his fist hard, Nom couldn't believe that he had failed to achieve the power of a god. He had vowed to obtain every single want or need that he had in his life and this was the first failure that he had come across in that intent.

He watched as the glass prism made contact with the lava, initially just standing on the surface of the thick, burning substance. Then it began sinking in and as it did so, a green fire escaped from the glass, taking form and substance as the spirit of Kashi Mer attempted to pull Arden with them. However, she repelled it with Force Lightning, making sure that it didn't even touch her as it was sucked back down into the lava and vaporized. No, that power was meant for me Nom thought but didn't say.

"Now if you'll excuse me, Intendant. I have to go home," Arden said before nodding to Czulkang as a signal that it was time to leave. But then, Czulkang reminded her about Depa and asked if this might be a good place to have a funeral. Arden lit up and nodded as she levitated the corpse of her apprentice from out of the coralskipper and gently placed it onto the molten lava. However, this did not happen before she silently offered prayers up to a mysterious deity she called the Chronicler.

Then she let go of her hold over Depa's body and all of the passengers of the two coralskipper watched as Depa's robes lit aflame before her body sank below. "Rest in peace, child of the Force," Nom heard Arden say. Then he looked up just in time to see the ship that carried her whisk away to another sector of the planet where the Chiss were bound to show up. But the Intendant didn't feel sadness for what had happened to Depa nor pity for Arden having to do what she had done.

Instead, he only felt hatred at himself for having failed to obtain the Talisman and all its power. But with this also came guilt, not just for failing to achieve a goal for the first time in his life but for having done what he had done to attempt its achievement. Perhaps Czulkang was right after all in what he had said about Nom Anor having no understanding of emotion or an understanding of how humans worked. _If that's the case, it truly does show that Czulkang has learned more than how to kill or shelter his son in his years alive_ Nom thought with an unpleasant smile.

But then it occurred to him that since Arden had fought Onimi, it would be best to assume that he had been in the path of the beam and thus would be where it ended. "Commander, did anyone see where the green beam stopped?" Nom asked. "If there was an end to it, it was most likely in the mountains because all but one in the entire range were destroyed before it dissipated," he answered._ Interesting, maybe he is there after all_ Nom thought but didn't say.

Aloud, he ordered the pilot of his coralskipper to head to the mountain in question and see if they could find anyone at the base. It would be interesting to see what happened to the Court Jester that had so rigorously puppeteered the Supreme Overlord and nearly succeeded in a takeover. Even if he died, he would be a laughable sight to look upon when Nom finally did see him. It would compensate for the guilt that he felt at the failure to obtain the Kashi Mer Talisman from Arden Lyn.

**Onimi was unconscious for** gods knew how long but when he finally awoke, he did so to the sound of a coralskipper approaching. The vibrations in the air combined with the rumbling of the ships biological engines was enough to completely awaken him from his trance. However, he wasn't in any mood to see who it was that rescued him unless it was Overlord Shimrra himself. Unfortunately, his recovering sight and hearing revealed that it was Nom Anor coming to his aid.

"Why do you assist me now when you attempted my assassination through the human women?" Onimi demanded weakly. "Only to see what powers they had and if they might be useful to me in the future. But unfortunately, the survivor of your confrontation saw to it that I could not command her powers to the cause of our people," Nom answered calmly. This was probably a lie but Onimi didn't care, he was about survival at the moment and it would come to him at all costs.

"Humans will always be some of the most stubborn, demanding creatures we have ever known," Onimi said. Just then, Nom Anor chuckled and extended a hand to his former enemy, suggesting that he hurry with deciding whether or not to go with him. _If my plans are to succeed, it would appear that I have to trust the Intendant for once_ Onimi thought grimly. He grasped the Intendant's hand with one of his own malformed hands and let him pull him up into a bed in the ship.

"You disappoint me sometimes, Intendant Anor," Onimi said almost in time to slip back into unconsciousness. "Get used to it, I'm probably going to disappoint many people in the future, you being the least of them," Nom Anor snapped. Onimi smiled, admitting that his adversary was probably right before then submitting to his body's will. It was enough for a little while, after all, and he would join Vergere in the infirmary soon enough.

**"This place might smell** a little of burned corpses but other than that, it should be ideal for one of Thrawn's teams to come searching for survivors," Czulkang stated. Arden smiled, not minding the smell that he had hinted to her before walking towards the exit. However, she stopped just before getting off and looked back at the old Yuuzhan Vong that had been such a help to her. She couldn't help her feet or her arms as she leapt at him and gave him a tight hug, thanking him for all he had done for her.

"I don't understand," Czulkang admitted. "Amongst humans, hugging is a way for us to show our affections whether to family, friends, or romantic interests. In this case, this is a friendship sort of affection I'm expressing to you," Arden explained. Czulkang chuckled and smiled, wrapping his own arms around her to return the favor for her which seemed to warm his old heart more than anything.

"I have never seen a warrior so grateful for kindnesses done to her by anyone," Tsavong stated. "The last time anyone did me a kindness was when I was twenty-four... More than twenty-five millenniums ago," Arden confessed. "In that case, you were far overdue for my father to come in and assist you as much as he had even without Nom Anor on your back," Tsavong said with a laugh.

Arden smiled and giggled, admitting that it was somewhat funny the way Tsavong teased about Nom Anor. "You guys watch that sleazy son of a whore while I'm gone, right?" Arden asked both Warmasters of Domain Lah. "Arden Lyn, you can count on it!" Tsavong vowed excitedly. "Do not fear, he won't be hanging around me and my son anytime in the future," Czulkang added in agreement.

"Thank you two for everything," Arden said as she gave Tsavong a less tight hug though still relatively affectionate. Smiling, Tsavong returned the embrace and had to admit he could see why his father found it so comforting. "You are many things Arden Lyn: warrior, sorceress, woman, lover, everything beneath the stars of the universe that humans can be," Czulkang said. "But at the same time, I am also nothing," Arden replied.

Looks like I forgot to say that she was wise. Oh well, she probably knows that I wished to say it Czulkang thought with a smile. "May the Force be with you, Arden Lyn. And may whatever gods exist, of my people or of yours, protect you on your journeys in life," he said aloud. "May your gods protect you and your son on your journeys as well," Arden replied before jumping out of the ship.

When she landed safely, Czulkang nodded for the pilot to continue back to his personal cruiser where he didn't doubt Shimrra would be expecting him and his son. "Will we ever see her again, father?" Tsavong asked after they began their approach to the cruiser. Czulkang looked at his son, a little surprised that he would ask this question of his ancient father.

"I don't know, Tsavong but truthfully, I'm somewhat hoping we don't," Czulkang admitted. "Why?" Tsavong inquired, surprised. "Because the next time we meet, we may be forced to fight her and attempt to kill her. Only problem is I don't doubt that she would be more than capable of turning the tables on us with her power," Czulkang explained calmly.

"You actually believe it'll be at least twenty-five years before we see her again, if we see her at all?" Tsavong asked. Czulkang nodded and when his son demanded an explanation for this belief, he gave him one. "Besides the truce forbidding us from entering the galaxy, Arden is one of those 'once-in-a-lifetime' sorts of people. It's better to only encounter them once on good terms and hear about the rest of their deeds than to have one good encounter against many bad ones," he said.

"Your fear, however, is that Arden's power won't leave us very much room for 'many bad encounters'," Tsavong guessed. "Yes son, what she bears in her is nothing like what I have seen before or since but that is not what makes her unique. Perhaps this is the old fool in me thinking but I believe that what makes her so special is that she is just as human as any human we have encountered before. She has power greater than just about any that we have had the pleasure of cutting down before but she uses her very human mistakes to learn how to wisely wield the power inside her.

"Arden is nowhere near as perfect an entity as one of the gods but, for some reason, I don't think she needs to be in order to wield the power she wields. Again, perhaps it's just the old fool in me but I choose to believe that it's better our paths never intertwine with her again for all our sakes," he confessed. "You are no fool, father; you're wiser than I could ever hope to be and are more qualified to be a Supreme Overlord than Shimrra. In fact, it's a wonder our system doesn't allow for ascendances from current ranks as you would be worthy of that after all your years," Tsavong stated.

"It's funny you mention that son because I was the one who made that proposal originally. The people of that time were to prone to seizing power wherever they could with nary worry or care. In the end, they destroyed themselves using the very power that they couldn't wield for themselves. Thus, when I arrived during the time of the Impaler, I used this measure to make sure he never rose again," Czulkang replied.

Tsavong couldn't believe what he was hearing, his father had suggested the fixation of the caste system? Granted, he was old enough to have been there when it was first accepted but to think that he was the one that originated it was unbelievable. "You made a wise decision father, it's just amazing that anyone accepted it unless you proposed it after the death of the Impaler," Tsavong said after thinking. And indeed, the more he thought about it, the more it did turn out to be a wise decision on the part of his father who nodded at his guess that it was proposed after the Impaler's death.

"The people needed hope that someone like him would never rise again, even after I severed his head and showed it to them. Thus, I invented the fixation of the caste system and saw to the Impaler's less-tyrannical heir being placed on the throne instead of me as the people wanted," his father added. _Truly, his intellect makes me dizzy sometimes; how can I ever hope to compete with him even if I do have a long career?_ Tsavong asked himself silently. The two exchanged no more words after that last comment was made and for the two Lahs, there was no more need; their work was done, after all.

**Thrawn had medical teams** spread out across the entirety of Zonama Sekot along with teams of firefighters ready to extinguish the flames of destruction upon arrival. That was the easiest job to do and immediately, he could see some of the planet beginning to heal from the burning ravages. However, he still needed to search for survivors of the destruction and there was no sign of his sister whatsoever. All hope seemed lost in his search for her and it looked like finding anyone significant had to be given up.

But then, the Ensign brought him a report that they had saved more people than their calculations had said would have been dead in such circumstances. "And something else Admiral: there's a woman in black robes from head to toe, carrying a pair of lightsabers. She called herself Arden Lyn and demands to see you at your earliest convenience. Naturally, I didn't know what she wanted with you and told her that you were unavailable at the moment," the Ensign added.

"You fool, where is she!?" Thrawn commanded. "In the infirmary with emergency service lot, why?" the Ensign asked. "She is one of the veterans of the final battle against the Yuuzhan Vong, the one I have been searching for across fifteen years!" Thrawn exclaimed. The Ensign gulped and quickly apologized, offering to lead the way to where Arden was for his commanding officer.

"Yes, show me where she is then leave us be to talk alone!" he ordered. The Ensign looked to ask if that was wise but he smartly clamped his mouth shut before further aggravating the Admiral. _After all these years, Arden Lyn is still alive! Truly it is a miracle, a gift from the Force itself though I wouldn't mind it having not been an exchange of lives: hers for my sister's_ Thrawn thought.

It brought half a smile came across his face at the prospect of meeting Arden Lyn again after fifteen years but because of his sister, it was only half. He had told Meg so much about Arden, Depa, and their combined power as well as its usage during the rise of the Shadow Conspiracy... She had hoped to meet her before her time had come though sadly, that dream was as dead as she was now. But casting aside his emotions at the death of his sister, Admiral Thrawn prepared himself for anything that could happen when he and Arden exchanged words again for the first time in those fifteen years. Whether she would hate him or be happy as a child to see him, it didn't matter to him, anymore.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

**Chapter Eighteen**

_How do I greet him, do I reintroduce myself to him after all these years?_ Arden asked himself. It was when he arrived that she decided to just greet him in the way that she had been expecting to do for a while. "Greetings Thrawn, it's been a long time since the last time we have crossed paths. It's a shame that we had to separate under the circumstances that we did, fifteen years ago," she said nonchalantly.

"Indeed... Where is Depa?" Thrawn asked. "Dead, killed fighting Yuuzhan Vong warriors," Arden answered, lying about who had killed Depa. "I... I'm sorry to hear that," Thrawn said, his tone giving that he was honest about it. "It still hurts due to how recent that it was: she died about a couple hours before I was rescued by one of your medical teams that put me in here almost immediately.

"Truly, I have to hand it to you for how rude your people are," Arden teased. "Do not concern yourself with them too much, they're just following protocol," Thrawn replied. "I guess so but then, yet again, sometimes protocol is ridiculous. How else do you think I got to this point in my life, by following protocol all the time?" Arden retorted.

Thrawn chuckled, impressed that she still maintained some of the personality that he had known before. "Are you the cause of the destruction of Zonama Sekot?" he asked after a moment's pause. Arden admitted that she had used the Talisman to create a beam out of Depa's midichlorian count which destroyed most of the planet. "An impressive power, I presume that you decided to destroy the Talisman after seeing that, thus it is not on you now?" Thrawn guessed.

Arden nodded and told Thrawn that Zonama was the place where the artifact had been created and thus, the only place to see its destruction. "Interesting, most interesting. I guess that it was the idea of its creator to do that in order to ensure his invincibility," Thrawn said with a smile. Arden nodded and suggested that now that formalities were aside, they should talk business.

"What business is there to talk about? You have returned to renew our alliance, have you not?" Thrawn asked. "No: I have come to request that it be dissolved until further notice," Arden answered. The Admiral looked a little surprised that she would come to suggest this amongst all things that she could've suggested after returning from the depths of the Void of the universe.

"Are you sure that you're not acting out of grief for what happened to your forces and Depa? It could be that the sadness, while touching, is clouding your rationale," Thrawn inquired. "Thrawn, I have been alive for twenty-five thousand years.

"I lost my husband near the beginning of my hibernation, my family turned on me and aided the Jedi Council tracking me down on several worlds. Because of this, I was forced to kill each and every one of them myself down to the last child until Xendor and my father were all I had left. Even my real father turned against me to the point where I was forced to kill him, making Xendor the only one for me. And when I lost him, I lost all that I had desired and loved until I met Depa and even then, I lost her to the damned Yuuzhan Vong before I could even reforge my life!

"I've gotten used to having traumatizing emotional injuries to the point where it doesn't affect my rationale. Until you have experienced what I have, I don't think you'd be able to compare to me," Arden explained.

Thrawn heaved a massive sigh and shrugged, admitting that perhaps she was right about her psychology. "I doubt I'd ever be able to know what that's like but I do know what it's like to lose family. My sister was killed when that beam destroyed the surface of Zonama Sekot," he said. Arden herself was surprised by hearing about Thrawn's own sister and apologized accordingly.

"It's not your fault, she probably would have begged me to kill her anyway considering that I had charged her with assassinating her husband, the leader of the Ascendancy. But, her sacrifice clears the path to my leading the Ascendancy into its future which I guess works out as a good thing. You don't plan on changing your mind about dissolving the alliance, I could use your power to great purpose," Thrawn replied. "I've got everything I need on my own, I think it's time I tried living my life alone for a little bit; political regimes aren't exactly my thing," Arden said with a smile.

Thrawn chuckled, wondering if perhaps, she had good reason to think that considering her history as one of the leaders of the Legions of Lettow. "I wonder what it must have been like living under the shadow of a man like Xendor before the end of the Legions," he said after thinking for a bit. "Immediately, I can tell you that it would not have been easy living under him but given the time, it would was impossible," she admitted. "I respect your decision to dissolve the alliance, therefore I shall be very generous in what I give you to make a good start in the Known Space.

"Much has changed since you left it to fight the Yuuzhan Vong though I suspect you could guess that much already," he said. "Do explain what you mean by your generosity," she said. "I shall issue an order that all Chiss forces shall leave you be whenever you come into our space. For those hapless, incompetent fools that don't however, you shall be allowed to kill them if they do not learn their error," he explained.

Arden thought about that for a moment and smiled at the sadism behind the idea of it. "Throw in a stamp to come and go as I please and you got yourself a deal," she said with a giggle. Thrawn chuckled and stated that he would add the stamp to the deal, persuading her to shake his hand. Arden did just that and she had to admit that it was somewhat refreshing to joke and laugh with someone.

After all, a fifteen-year hibernation, the death of Depa, and the destruction of the Talisman brought a weight that laughter and jokes helped to lighten it up. _If only I had come back before Depa died, maybe it would have been a heartier reunion_ Arden thought but didn't say. _Truly she has quite a way with people despite having been born twenty-five millenniums ago_ Thrawn thought. "I don't suppose that you'll be going back to Irkalla again?" the Chiss Admiral asked aloud.

"I think that might be wise considering how I managed to hide for thousands of years pretty well before your men discovered me. Besides, I need to go into a trance to heal from my grief for the death of Depa and my companions," she answered immediately. "Very well, I shall arrange transportation to the caves of Irkalla as soon as you're ready to travel," he said. "In that case, you might want to have it ready in a few seconds: I'm ready now," she retorted.

"I like you, Arden. I really do," Thrawn said with a smile. Arden shrugged and said that she didn't know what it was but people like her at some level or another. "Maybe that's an advantage more often than not," Thrawn suggested before ordering the shuttle.

**As was typical of** his days in the Imperial Palace, Emperor Palpatine enjoyed his rule over the Empire he had created from the ashes of the old Republic. It was always typical that he relished in it due to the destruction of the Jedi Order that had been his enemy since the beginning. However, he was a little upset: his ally in the Unknown Regions had yet to find a powerful Force-sensitive named Arden. His interest in her was simple: see if he could use her power to enhance his grip on the galaxy and secure its eternity until he no longer had a use for her.

But of course, he wanted to also see if she could go beyond the standards of most of his other servants like Lord Vader, for instance. True that Vader had been forged from the burnt body of the most powerful of the Jedi Order but he was far from what Sidious had hoped. Now however, he had been presented by Admiral Thrawn with a possible opportunity for a new apprentice. As if the thought of it provoked a summoning, Palpatine's channel for Thrawn came to life in a series of beeps.

Answering it quickly, Sidious immediately requested to hear what Thrawn had to say. "The search for Arden Lyn has gone more than well: she's been found after all this time. She was beyond the Void of the universe, fighting her Yuuzhan Vong captors despite losing her apprentice in the process. And there is something else that may interest you: she used an artifact that allowed her to light a whole world aflame," Thrawn answered excitedly.

_The Force has proven to grant extraordinary capabilities to those who know how to control it but that much power? It's more than I have ever known except perhaps when I created the blackhole_ Lord Sidious thought silently. "And where is she now?" he asked aloud. "I've already seen to her return to the caves of Irkalla so that she had time to grieve for her friends alone," Thrawn answered.

"And how long am I to wait until she is done?" Sidious inquired impatiently. He wanted to bring Arden into the picture as soon as he could but he would not waltz into a trap. "I'd give her a minimum of six months to a maximum of a full standard year. She intends to go into a meditative trance to heal herself within before repairing exterior damage she suffered," Thrawn confessed.

_That doesn't seem too bad, I've already had to wait fifteen years before hearing any good news about her. I can wait a little while longer before she joins my legions and enhances the strength of my regime. Admiral Thrawn has done well for himself and for me, far more than either of us could ever anticipate_ Sidious thought but didn't say. ""That is an interesting method but why all that time?" he asked aloud.

"She was put into a trance of suspended animation for twenty-five thousand years before her reawakening during the Clone Wars. I think it's safe to say the shock of all that had happened since her time was more than overwhelming and I admit I barely gave her time to recover like normal humans. Still, it made it interesting to interact with her considering what she knew of days before the Sith and the Jedi and not too long after the Rakata Invasions," Thrawn answered._ That knowledge could be useful in the right hands_ Sidious observed enthusiastically.

"In that case, I will have agents ready to pick her up in six months. I will not wait out the full year before putting her talents to use in my Empire," he stated aloud. "Very well, I already told her that I would try to guarantee her as much as I could thought I couldn't promise more than that," Thrawn said. Then the Chiss Admiral bowed and was about to disconnect before a troubling matter popped into his mind, preventing the transmission from ending abruptly.

"Forgive me intruding, milord, but what is your interest in Arden Lyn? Why is it that you are so eager to add her to your growing collection of powerful wielders of the Dark Side?" he asked. Sidious was initially surprised that his Chiss subordinate would have the gall to ask him such a heavy question. But the Emperor of the greatest Sith Empire that history had ever seen was not going to deny one of his greatest servants knowledge that he was eager to absorb like a sponge to water.

"During the Clone Wars, there was an organization led by my former apprentice, Darth Maul. The organization was called the Shadow Collective and had many members from different criminal families. One such member was a fallen Jedi named Depa Billaba and the most that was known of her was that she was apprentice to a very powerful woman: I'm eager to know if that was Arden Lyn. In addition, if that's so, I would like to know the full extent of her potential and its benefits for me," Sidious said.

"If you wanted to know who Depa's Mistress was, you should've asked me. It was Arden Lyn and indeed, the women were allies to the Shadow Collective though theirs was a minimal part," Thrawn stated. "And how would you know this?" Sidious inquired. "My men helped revive Arden Lyn and I was originally a secret ally of the Shadow Collective.

"In fact, it was I who ordered the repairs to the damage to Savage and Maul both took from the Jedi and sent them on their way. However, that was where my part ended and I drew my attention back to my greatest enemy at the time. Arden helped me with holding back this enemy whilst her apprentice helped with giving the Shadow Collective and its leaders a good start," Thrawn admitted. "Impressive, most impressive; a shame you didn't tell me this at the time you delivered the brothers into my hands for execution," Sidious snarled.

"Ah but that's what makes it so interesting: it was an opportunity to analyze your mind without compromising much of my own," Thrawn retorted. Sidious smiled, once again realizing that he had been outwitted by the Chiss Admiral even if it was on a small matter long behind in the past. "Under that logic, you have proven yourself even worthier to join my ranks," he said, proving it in his tone. "And I very much look forward to that day when it comes, milord," Thrawn said with a bow.

It was at this time that the transmission was finally disconnected and Sidious laughed in his usual demeanor. Indeed, Thrawn would be a fine specimen to add to the collection and he wondered if the Chiss would make a good second-in-command should Vader fall. True that he wasn't Force-sensitive and probably wouldn't stand a chance against some of Sidious' other servants anyhow. However, if the dark lord could somehow guarantee his protection over Thrawn, it could work in his favor.

And it was just his luck that he had to be thinking about what would happen in Vader died as the man came into his throne room as he had requested earlier. "You summoned me, Master?" Vader asked, proving the point to the Emperor even further. "Yes, Lord Vader: the great Arden Lyn that Thrawn has spoken of has been found after fifteen years of searching. Granted, we will have to wait another six months before she can be of convenience to us but she is alive and well," Sidious said immediately.

"With due respect Master, wouldn't it be better to go and recruit her now? I could go with a couple of Emperor's Hands and see to her joining our ranks?" Vader suggested. "Tempting but I'm afraid that she would be in no mood to join us as of now. Thrawn has told me of how she has lost much during her travels in the Void of the universe and must be allowed time to recover," Sidious replied.

"You've never been one to be that merciful to anyone before, why should you be this way to her of all people?" Vader asked. Sidious smiled and chuckled, his apprentice never ceasing to amaze him with the surprises he threw at him even if he was just a minor success in the scheme of things. "You have learned much from your training under me, Lord Vader. However, it is not mercy that I deal out to Arden Lyn: it is an acceptance of the bounds of the human psyche.

"She would be far more useful to me having at least strengthened her resolve enough to put her grief aside when she needed to than if she hadn't. There is only so much mind-bending you can do to someone like her before they snap and turn on you, even I know that well," he explained. "That didn't stop you from freeing me from the boundaries of the Jedi," Vader stated. "No it didn't but it did stop me from completely shattering your resolve and making you a mindless puppet.

"True that I have the potential to do that but the way of the Sith invites betrayal, a strength and a weakness of our Order at the same time. Had I completely broken your mind and turned you into a puppet, you'd be no more useful to me than the droids you scrapped during the Clone Wars. Would you have wanted that to be your fate with how powerful you were and still are?" Sidious asked. Vader paused before speaking, his breathing being the only sound that his Master could hear from him.

Then he spoke and admitted that he wouldn't want Palpatine to have done that to him after all they had been through together. "Good, now you understand what I must do in order to persuade Arden Lyn to serve us. I cannot afford to break her mind too much or else I risk the loss of a potentially excellent ally. With all that aside, I have a mission for you: I need you to go to Dantooine and purge the galaxy of a Jedi Knight named Falon Grey and his clone called X2," Palpatine said immediately.

"Yes my master, it shall be done," Lord Vader stated with a bow. Sidious returned the formality and sat back down on the chair in the center of his Throne Room. Here, he felt like a god amongst mortals yet this was also where he felt like he was beneath all others. He wasn't quite sure why yet but he was confident of one thing: if anything held the cure to this problem, it the addition of Arden Lyn. _That woman has become more important than I thought she would, strange but true_ he thought.


	19. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Returning to Irkalla to begin the trance within the caves had been the easiest part of Arden's trip back to the cold, forsaken planet. The hard part was actually finding the will to go into it considering that she had had visions of both past and future during her time in suspended animation. Whether this was because of the Talisman's power or not, she couldn't be certain. However, despite its power to help her cheat death, she had to admit it was hard for the the artifact to have given her premonitions as well.

True that it had stored twenty-five thousand years of information that she could receive it all at once when she awoke. However, because of that mechanism, she found it difficult to believe that it could implant premonitions into her head without the information that would allow it to do so._ Even if Kashi Mer was close to omnipotence, it seemed that the ability to see the future slipped past him. A pity considering how close he was, admittedly, to reaching his obsessive and perverted view of perfection_ Arden thought to herself with a smile.

Breathing in and out in the same manner that she always did when she was entering a trance, she allowed her mind to forget all cognitive thoughts as they would be a distraction to her. Instead, she let it empty and let all her more unimportant memories fade from the eye of her mind into its darker bowels. Now, she was in the state of being that could simply be defined as mental non-existence or as scientists would probably call it, a complete shutdown of all mental functions. With her mind prepared, she readied her body for what was probably going to be another relatively lengthy Force-induced trance.

It seemed her luck that she always ended up with trances more than a few hours or so but she wondered how long this one would be. True that being stuck in an escape pod had proven to last fifteen years and it was true that her first trance lasted twenty-five thousand. Still, she often wondered if she could somehow make herself pretty close to immortal with these sorts of things going for her. It was within her power to slow her aging down relatively significantly as it had been in the power of others.

Granted, she didn't want to cheat death for longer than the Force was willing to let her but the Chronicler had spoken of it being this kind to her so far. She could be fairly sure that her ability to live an extensive life wouldn't run out just yet. Or was it really a kindness that the Chronicler had dictated for her as opposed to a test of her willpower? Could it be that she had been selected to endure the most hellish test of all species and tell other mortals about the results of it?

If that was so, she wondered why neither the Talisman nor the Chronicler had even clued into such an idea, nevermind confessed full details to her. To her, it was like telling her to do a job a certain way without teaching her how to complete it in that way but that was the beauty of the Force. At most, one only had clues as to how they could achieve its will for good or evil, for love or hatred. It never revealed more than it wished to because what it wished to reveal was no more than most would need.

Perhaps there was some merit in the exclusionary ways of the Jedi Order from her time after all and she had failed to see it. Despite all these things going against her, Arden had only one vision: a little girl with black hair like hers. What did this child mean, was she a sign of a future that Arden had hoped for that was coming true at last? As she finally tranced, she quit caring and relaxed... for the moment.

**Note from Christopher: Hey guys, thank you for being patient with the development of this, it has been a long time in the coming. Also, forgive me if any element of the story from the appearance of the Yuuzhan Vong all the way to what happens in the epilogue is disappointing. This is my first attempt in writing a feature-length novel concerning the Yuuzhan Vong and unfortunately, I have not done the most extensive research I could possibly do. Nonetheless, I would like to thank my collaborator Diego for allowing me the privilege of bringing this idea to life and allowing him to credit as a collaborator due to our discussions on it.**

** I would also like to thank Revanachist for this anonymous user's staunch support of the series since the publication of_ Treaty In The Darkness_. But most importantly, I want to thank you fans that don't review yet read my stories anyway: without you guys, I would have given up on fanfiction a long time ago and moved on to other things. It's because of you that the novels I have spat out were possible and I promise to try and be a little speedier in publication in the future though I make no promises. In closing, I salute you all and advise you to stay tuned for the next installment to the Arden Lyn Chronicles, The Dark Days. See ya later for now, guys!**


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